


broken return

by gleefully_musical



Series: elizabeth! oh, my own heart! [3]
Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: just the mums, mama anne, mama aragon, mother jane, not bloody mary that's not allowed in this house, only mary tudor, parr will get her time too don't worry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:55:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 32,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26942491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gleefully_musical/pseuds/gleefully_musical
Summary: when anne, aragon, and jane miss their children, a special surprise arrives from the past.
Relationships: Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I of England, Catherine of Aragon & Mary I of England, Edward VI of England & Jane Seymour
Series: elizabeth! oh, my own heart! [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1797907
Comments: 93
Kudos: 147





	1. the beginning

**Author's Note:**

> I'M BACK!  
> this is probably the last story of my anne and elizabeth series, but I'm thinking it'll probably be decently long.  
> sorry about the fact that I haven't updated stand idly by, I don't have the bug for it right now, as this story has fully taken over my brain.  
> I cannot promise regular updates, because ontario's quadmester schedule is murdering me, but I will try my best!
> 
> plus, who watched THE REUNION TONIGHT! I got to catch the livestream. wow. millie's song just about killed me on the spot. they were so good!
> 
> enjoy!

“Anne! Come on! It’s time to go!”  
“Coming, Kit-Kat!” Anne replied, throwing her phone into her newest tote bag and grabbing the car keys from the hook by the door. She ran outside, finding her cousin standing by the car door, hands on her hips as she waited. There was a pile of baked goods next to her feet, all carefully wrapped and placed in containers. 

Anne reached the car and opened the door, sliding inside and unlocking the rest of the doors. Kitty quickly placed the food in the backseat and came to sit next to Anne in the passenger seat.  
“You ready?” Anne asked, blowing a bubble of gum and turning the key in the ignition.  
“Yep. It can’t be that hard, right? We just go, teach the kids a little bit about our old lives, but leave out the nasty bits.”  
“Then give them cookies so they like us, chat up a few of the little monsters, and head out. We’ll be fine, Kit. This is good for you. Gets you out in the world and all that.” Anne said, pulling out of the driveway and turning onto the road.

They pulled up in front of a nearby primary school. Jane had booked this gig with Anne in mind, but Kitty had been a last-minute addition, once they realized everyone else was busy.  
Kitty wasn’t bad with children. She was quite good with them, actually. But she had a hard time speaking in front of large groups of people who she didn’t know. Jane was slightly worried about her, but Kitty had said very firmly that she would be fine.  
They’d be teaching some of the children in the school about what life was like back when they were alive, the first time. She was pretty sure she could handle that, and if she clammed up, Anne could easily command the whole thing by herself.

Once they pulled into the school parking lot, the day was a flurry of blackboards, papers, little hands waving in the air, and talking. Lots and lots of talking, about fashion, food, houses, and general lifestyles of when they had lived long ago. It was slightly overwhelming to discuss that many details of a time that was still so vivid to Kitty, and she felt a little lightheaded by the end of the day, and the fifth question about her beheading. The teachers had shut down every question deemed inappropriate, and that subject was, of course, off limits. But the simple words had made Kitty sway slightly every time they were said. Anne had looked a little pale as well, but she’d easily jumped back into the fray, captivating the children with her silly tales of adventures with George back at Hever. The students had been especially interested in her time in the Netherlands and France. No one asked about Kitty’s childhood, and she was glad about that, not wanting to dart around the uncomfortable topics that would be sure to come up if they brought up her tender years.

They were walking back to the car, Kitty drinking quickly from the water bottle Anne had packed her (“I know you get light-headed, Kit-Kat, and I couldn’t have you fainting in front of a bunch of ten-year-olds!”), Anne chattering a mile a minute about their day, when it happened for the first time.  
“I think we should stop for a treat on the way back, we definitely-”. Anne stopped abruptly and grabbed Kitty’s forearm tightly.  
“Kitty.”. Her voice was shaky, tight, and sad. Kitty looked at her older cousin.  
“What’s wrong, Anne?”  
“I saw her.”  
“Who?”  
“Elizabeth.”

When they pulled into the driveway of home, Anne’s hands were shaking so badly on the wheel that Kitty almost made her stop driving. She carefully unbuckled her cousin’s seatbelt for her, and led her to the door. Anne was shaking with silent tears by the time they got inside, and Kitty led her to the living room, where Jane was sitting reading a book.  
“How was the school, girls?” she said, without looking up.  
“Um, Anne had a little scare, Jane.” Kitty explained quietly. Jane immediately glanced up at them, putting her book down quickly when she saw the state Anne was in. Standing up and moving over to the cousins, she carefully took Anne into her embrace.  
“Love, what’s the matter?” she asked cautiously, rubbing Anne’s back and trying not to wince at the sheer amount of vibrations she was feeling from the girl’s shaking.  
Anne said nothing, continuing to cry into Jane’s shirt.  
“She-she thought she saw Elizabeth.” Kitty murmured. At this, Anne looked up.  
“I didn’t think I saw her, Kitty. I saw her! Really and truly!” she cried. Jane shook her head sadly.  
“Anne, I know you’re hurting, but you need to be rational, honey. Elizabeth is gone, Mary is gone, Edward-” her voice broke slightly, “Edward is gone. We aren’t getting them back.”. 

Jane led Anne over to the couch and sat her down in her lap, stroking the top of the other woman’s head in circular motions. Anne continued to cry heavily, and Kitty stepped out of the room quietly, going to put away the things from their day that had started so well but ended so terribly.  
“Anne, would you like me to put on a movie?” Jane asked softly. Anne nodded soundlessly. “Alright, which one would you like?”. Anne responded with an unintelligible murmur.  
“Okay, I didn’t quite catch that, but would Sound of Music be alright?”. She got a nod in return, and so Jane grabbed the remote and put on the movie. They were soon lost in the hills of Austria and Julie Andrews, and Anne eventually calmed down enough to watch the movie without many tears.  
Once it finished, though, she began to quietly cry again. Jane hadn’t ever stopped her stroking, but she hugged Anne a little tighter to her and let the other woman cry. Anne wasn’t usually much of a talker when she was sad, so Jane was slightly surprised when her mouth opened and she began to speak.  
“Do you miss him all the time like I miss her?”  
The question was so full of hurt and pain that Jane almost began to cry at the sound of it. But her heart clenched slightly, and she nodded.  
“Every minute. I-I don’t even really know what he looked like. I mean, I know there’s that portrait of him as a baby, and the other ones, but I never watched him grow up, you know?”  
“I know.” Anne said softly. “I’m lucky that Elizabeth inherited the vanity of her parents. She has so many portraits. And I watched her grow up for the first two and half years. But it’s not the same, portraits.”  
“No, they’re not.” Jane agreed. They sat in silence for a short while until a small movement from behind made them both look on the other side of the couch.  
Catalina was standing there, tears in her eyes. She had evidently not meant to let them know she had been there, but once she realized they had noticed her, she took a step towards them.  
“I miss her too.” she said, her voice trembling. Jane patted the empty space on the couch.  
“Come sit, Lina.”. It wasn’t really an order, but Aragon came quickly and sat facing the other two. The words came pouring out of her much faster than the other two.  
“I just-I just look at portraits, and I read about my Mary, mi preciosa. I cannot help but feel that I failed her as a mother. She looks so sad. Like the whole weight of the world is on her shoulders. It breaks my heart to see my baby looking like that.”  
Both of the others nodded. Their children looked like that too. So much had been placed on their little shoulders before they were even old enough to talk, to read, to even know what shoulders were.  
“She loved you, Catalina.” Anne said softly. “You can’t help the other things, but you know she loved you. She loved you so much it made her hate me, but those were the things she knew most strongly. Her love for you and her faith. You did what you could.”. Catalina took Anne’s hand gently and squeezed it tight, knowing that Anne would get the meaning she was trying to convey.  
“And Elizabeth loved you, Anne. Our children loved us. I just wish we could see them one more time to tell them how much we love them.” Jane said sadly. The others nodded, and soon they lapsed into a comfortable silence. That was how Kitty, Anna, and Cathy found them the next morning. Sleeping comfortably, but with tear tracks etched into their skin. 

Kitty was practising pirouettes in the living room, confident in the knowledge that Jane and Aragon weren’t home to scold her. She wasn’t supposed to dance in the living room, simply because there were plenty of breakables everywhere and sometimes she got a little carried away. However, Anne, Aragon, and Jane had gone out for coffee, presumably to have a discussion about their children. She was pretty sure that’s why they’d all been curled up on the couch together last week. They’d all been acting strange since that day Anne thought she’d seen Elizabeth, and Kitty was glad they were getting out of the house.

Music was blaring in her headphones as she carefully spun around, glad for the fact that Cleves had convinced Jane to purchase a dancing floor mat to put over the carpet that covered the floors of their flat. She was doing great, until she knocked over the giant white vase Jane loved more than organized kitchens. And Jane really loved organized kitchens.  
“Shoot!” she whispered, checking her language even though she knew no one who was home would tell her to mind it. Tiptoeing over to the mess, she sighed in relief. Only one piece was knocked out, and she was pretty sure that it could be glued back in. With no Anne around to accidentally glue her fingers to the roof of her own mouth (long story), Kitty could have this easily fixed before the first three queens even finished their coffee.

She was carefully picking up the large shard with the tips of her fingers when a tentative knock sounded on the front door. Grabbing the vase, she walked to the door, curious. No one ever came to visit them, not really. Who was it? All their friends just came right in.   
Opening the door, Kitty’s jaw dropped.  
“Um...hi, Katherine. Is my mum home?”  
Kitty dropped the vase once again.


	2. an introduction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Unexpected visitors? The poor vase goes through some stuff, and Kitty comes face-to-face with three people she never thought she'd see again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter two!  
> happy birthday edward vi! you never really did much except get king-napped (any tudor I hardly know her listeners?) and hate the pope, but hope you're resting peacefully. 
> 
> is anyone else having a really hard time getting all the songs from the reunion out of their head?

The vase broke much worse the second time around, Kitty mused. She crouched down to pick up the pieces, leaving the three bodies standing at her front door to watch awkwardly. Once she stood up again, carefully placing the pieces into a tote bag, Anne’s, she presumed, that had been left on the floor, she sucked in a deep breath.  
An auburn-haired teenager was standing in the doorway, clutching the hand of another red-headed toddler. In the teen’s other hand was a baby carrier, and Kitty knew if she looked inside it, she’d find a small baby with a tuft of blonde hair and big, blue eyes. The two girls looked as though they hadn’t slept properly in days, especially the elder. They all had clothes that they looked uncomfortable in, and the small girl was staring up at Kitty with large dark eyes that she knew far too well. The teenager looked ridiculously nervous, more uncomfortable than Kitty had ever seen her in life, but then she was younger than Kitty had ever known her in life.  
“Um-Katherine?” Mary asked cautiously. “My mum...is she around?”  
“No.” Kitty said. When Mary looked devastated, she immediately continued. “She-I mean, she’s not here right now. But, yes, she does live here.”  
“Okay, good. I mean, that’s great. Thank you, Katherine. We’ll just wait out-”  
“Come in!” Kitty cut her off, gesturing them inside. “You can help me fix this vase before Jane gets home.”. She didn’t miss the way Mary’s eyes lit up once again at the mention of her favourite stepmother.   
“I don’t want to impose…” Mary said shyly, but the girl Kitty knew was Elizabeth tugged on her sister’s hand impatiently.  
“Mary, my feet hurt.” she whined. “Can we go in with the nice lady?”  
Mary melted at her younger sister’s smile.   
“Fine, El. Be very careful not to break anything, okay?”  
“ ‘Kay.” Elizabeth replied nonchalantly, dashing inside and grabbing Kitty’s hand, giving her a big smile. “Hello, my name is Elizabeth. Are you Katherine? That’s Mary’s mum’s name.”

They followed Kitty into the kitchen, where she gestured to seats for the girls and placed Edward’s carrier onto the counter.   
“Superglue, superglue-aha! Found it!” Kitty crowed, pulling the sticky tube out of the drawer that was marked “Anne-do not touch” in Jane’s careful handwriting. “Time to fix this vase!”. She got to work.  
Mary was gazing around the kitchen in a bit of a daze, fiddling with the edge of her sweater. Edward was dead asleep in his carrier, much to Elizabeth’s chagrin. She was tickling her brother’s feet, disappointed that he wasn’t waking up to play with her.  
The silence was broken by Elizabeth, of course.  
“Katherine?”  
“You can call me Kitty, Elizabeth.”  
“Okay. Kitty?”  
“Yes?”  
“Do you know Mary’s mama? We’re looking for her. And maybe my mama, and Edward’s mama. Do they all live here?”  
“Um-yeah. I live here with Mary’s mama, and yours, and Edward’s, and two nice ladies named Cathy and Anna.”  
“Okay.”  
Elizabeth went back to playing with Edward’s feet, apparently satisfied with the answer she had been given. Kitty went back to vase fixing, which she had decided she did not have a particular affinity for. The vase was back together, yes, but it looked slightly misshapen and she was pretty sure Jane was going to notice. Hopefully the shock of the three Tudor royal children would be big enough to sufficiently distract her.   
It wasn’t five minutes later that Elizabeth began to fall asleep in her chair, and so Kitty helped Mary carry the two younger children upstairs to her room for their naps. She wasn’t sure where Cathy and Anna had gone off to, probably the library and the park, but she led the girl who had once hated her so much into the living room and sat her down on the couch.  
“What’s going on?” she asked, bringing her hands up to rest on her chin as she gazed at Mary. The teenager shook her head in confusion.  
“I-I’m not really sure. I mean, we just woke up one day in a hotel room, in these clothes. Elizabeth was so little, and Edward was just-just a baby again, and I was so confused. I remember everything, last I remember I was...I was dying, and Philip was gone, and Elizabeth was being her stubborn self, and Edward was dead, and there was no baby-” her voice broke slightly, but she continued. “But I feel fifteen, the same age I was the last time I saw Mama, and Elizabeth is two and a half, the same age she was when she last saw that whore mother of hers, and Edward is a baby, just a few weeks old,”  
“The same age he was when Jane died.” Kitty said in wonder.  
“Yes. Elizabeth doesn’t remember anything, you saw that. She doesn’t know you, I think she only kept her memories until Anne died, and Edward obviously knows nothing. But I remember everything, and when we woke up there was a note saying to find you, and I had to do it. But I didn’t know how, and so we’ve been tracking you ever since we found out about the show, which I think is so wonderful by the way, and here we are.”  
“Here you are.” Kitty repeated. She felt very uncomfortable under Mary’s scrutinizing gaze, but she took the girl’s hand. “Your mum should be back soon. She just went for coffee with Anne and Jane.”. The shock on Mary’s face at the fact that her mother was having coffee with Anne Boleyn didn’t escape Kitty’s notice, but she left it unchecked, privately thinking that Mary was going to need to get used to that.

They sat there for about an hour, the awkward silence broken by the Friends reruns that Kitty found on the television. She was just about to ask Mary when they should wake the younger ones up from their nap when the door opened. Mary jumped.  
“Is that…”  
“Your mum.” Kitty confirmed. She stuck out her hand for Mary to grab. “They won’t be in this room for a few minutes. Go wait upstairs with El and Edward. I’ll talk to them first, we don’t want to give your poor mother heart failure.”  
Mary nodded, heading upstairs quickly, tossing a grateful smile over her shoulder.   
Kitty took a deep breath, turning to face the entrance hall. Just as she expected, Jane’s voice echoed through the house a second later.  
“Kitty, dear? We’re home!”  
“Coming, Jane!” she called, smoothing the sides of her shirt nervously. Showtime!

They had gone shopping too, Kitty realized. She had been wondering why they’d taken so long to come back. Bags and bags of things were spilling out of the arms of all three women.  
“Kitty, love, can you hold this for me?” Jane asked, shoving a Gucci bag into Kitty’s arms.  
“Um, sure, Jane. Listen, I need to talk to you all about something.”  
“Of course, honey. Just give us a minute, okay? I need to put away some of this food I bought before it gets too warm.” Aragon said, touching Kitty gently on the arm.   
“Okay, but it’s really impor-“  
Anne shoved a croissant into her cousin’s mouth.  
“Taste this, Kit-Kat! We met some really nice chef at the coffee shop, he’s new, and his name is Pierre, so I told him all about my friend Pierre from when I lived in France, but of course I didn’t include all the details, and then-”  
Kitty cut her cousin off by tapping her cousin three times on the arm, their signal to ‘calm down and take a breath’.  
“It’s very good, Anne. But can I please talk to you guys?”  
They were in the kitchen now, Aragon and Jane tag-teaming the putting-away of the groceries.   
“For sure, sweetheart. What’s going on?” Jane said, putting some frozen pizzas into the freezer.   
“Well-um, we got some unexpected visitors today, they just showed up and-”  
“Visitors? Cool!” Anne exclaimed, grabbing a muffin from Jane’s hands. “Who is it?” she asked, muffled by the baked good filling her mouth. “I bet it’s the Queen! She’s finally heard that we’re here and she’s come to check on her relatives. Because, we’re related, you know. My sister Mary is related to her, which means I am too, which means-”  
“Katherine, did you break my vase?” Jane asked, sounding very serious and much more upset than Kitty would have liked her to.  
“Um, you see, it’s a funny story…”  
“I KNOW!” Anne cried, cutting Jane off. “It’s got to be Harley Bird!”  
“Who on earth is Harley Bird?” Aragon asked tiredly.  
“Um, how could you NOT know who Harley Bird is. She’s only the voice of the most ICONIC cartoon character ever, Peppa Pig.” Anne replied incredulously.   
“How do you expect me to know that, Anne?”   
“Well, maybe if you were cultured like you should be-”  
“I’ve told you a thousand times, I do not want to watch children’s cartoons with you!”  
Their arguing was cut off by a loud crash.  
Jane had dropped the poor vase once again, for a very valid reason.  
Mary was standing in the doorway awkwardly, fiddling with her hands.  
“Hi.” she said softly, turning to Kitty. “Katherine, could you point me to the bathroom, please?”  
Kitty nodded.   
“It’s just through that door upstairs, Mary. The first one on the left.”  
“Thank you.” she replied gratefully, shooting one quick look at her mother before she dashed upstairs. They heard the door close, and Jane turned to Kitty, who was standing uncomfortably next to Anne.  
“Is that-”  
“Mary.” she confirmed quietly. “Those are the visitors I was trying to tell you about.”.   
Aragon sunk into a stool, resting her head in her hands.  
“It’s really her?” she asked, turning her head slightly to look at Kitty. “My baby came back?”  
Kitty nodded.   
“It’s really her, Catalina.”  
Anne had become very quiet all of a sudden. She looked deathly pale, like she might fall over at any second. Kitty thought that if she had seen Anne right before her trial, this might have been what her face looked like. Anne opened her mouth to ask, but Kitty answered her question for her.  
“Elizabeth is here too, Anne.”. At that, Anne collapsed into a pile of tears next to Aragon, shoulders heaving. “Edward too, Jane. They’re upstairs sleeping.”  
Jane looked like she’d just won a million dollars. Her face lit up with joy, but she stumbled slightly, grabbing the edge of the counter to steady herself.  
“Really and truly?” she asked quietly.  
“Yes, I promise.” Kitty said sincerely, placing her hand over Jane’s and squeezing tightly.  
Aragon looked up again, her eyes filled with tears.  
“Katherine?”  
“Yes, Catalina?” Kitty replied, quickly going over to the older woman.  
“Could you please bring my Mary down? I need to speak to mi preciosa. So many, so many things I need to say to her.” she said, shaking her head slowly.  
“Of course, I’ll go get her right now. Why don’t you go to the living room, Lina? Anne, you can go to your room, I’ll bring Elizabeth in. Jane, go to yours as well. Edward won’t be hard to get.” Kitty directed. Jane nodded, and Aragon smiled, heading over to the living room. Anne didn’t budge at first, but Jane went over to her predecessor and gently guided her up the stairs. Kitty followed them a few moments later, going into her room as quietly as she could, careful not to wake the younger two.

Mary was sitting on the beanbag chair that Jane had bought for Kitty a few months previously, flipping through a book on social justice reforms that Cathy had bought her last Christmas when Kitty walked in, but she quickly put it down like she’d been caught doing something wrong.  
“Katherine, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to ruin things before they even began! Is my mum okay?”  
“Your mum is fine, Mary. She’s waiting for you downstairs, in the living room, incredibly excited to talk to you. Do you remember where it is?” Kitty asked softly. Mary stood up immediately.  
“Yes, of course! That’s wonderful! I’ll go right down now!” she exclaimed, but then paused. “Wait, what about El and Eddie? They usually wake up by now, I need to-”  
“Mary, don’t worry about them.” Kitty cut her off gently. “I’m going to take them to see their mothers.”  
Mary looked slightly unsure about this, but she evidently decided that Anne wouldn’t be able to poison Elizabeth’s mind that quickly, and she wanted to see her mother. With a grateful look, she slipped out the door.  
Kitty turned to the two sleeping bodies on her bed.  
“Right.” she said. “You guys want to see your mums?”.   
They didn’t answer, obviously, but Kitty figured they’d probably agree with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> leave a review if you like!  
> happy indigenous people's day! fuck christopher columbus.


	3. a second first meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane finally meets her baby, Edward, for the second first time. Meanwhile, Anna and Cathy arrive home to a very different atmosphere than they left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here it is! jane's reunion with edward is, admittedly, not a huge part of this chapter. I promise you lots of jane/eddie time later, but I didn't think it was necessary to write a thousand words where jane just stares at the baby who cannot even talk or do much of anything.
> 
> as this is part of an anne/elizabeth series, that will definitely be the mother and child I focus on the most, but rest assured that my mary will be a HUGE part of this story, as I love her too much to push her to the sidelines like she was forced to do most of her life.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

She woke Edward up first, figuring that he’d been asleep for the longest. Elizabeth stirred slightly, but thankfully remained dead asleep. Kitty gazed at her for a moment, realizing that Elizabeth really was the perfect blend, visually, of both her parents. She had Henry’s red hair, obviously, his mouth, and his height. But there was so much Anne too. The nose, her facial shape, her eyes (most of all). Henry had always stressed his resemblance to Elizabeth, and Kitty knew Elizabeth had done the same with her father. It was important for her to stay as connected as possible to the father the people had adored, not the mother they hated. 

Maybe now she could have a chance to express that repressed side of herself, Kitty mused to herself. She knew about the small things El had done to show her love for her mother, the ring, the painting, but she could get the chance to know her mother this time around. Elizabeth was lucky for that. Kitty herself had barely known her mother, and she was glad for her young cousin and ex-step-daughter. 

Edward stirred in her arms, mewling slightly. Kitty grinned at him, brushing a finger over the tiny tuft of familiar blonde hair on the soft head. He blinked up at her owlishly, blue eyes drinking in this new face. She felt a slight pang of sorrow at the fact that the little boy she had once known, not well, but enough that he called her “Mother”, would never properly remember the hours she had spent trying to play with him and his older sister.

That was all in the past now, she reminded herself. Now, it was time to bring Eddie to the mother who missed him so dearly. She grabbed a bottle of formula Mary had placed on the bedside table as an afterthought, and looking back at Elizabeth once more to check that she was still asleep, she left the room and walked down the hall to Jane’s room. She paused for a second, and then brought her hand up to knock gently.   
“Jane?” she asked quietly. “Are you going to be alright if I bring Edward in now?”   
There was a slight pause, and then she heard some shuffling, then a sniffle, then Jane’s voice, choked with tears.  
“Yes, please, Kitty. Please, bring my baby in.”.   
Kitty entered the room cautiously, carefully shielding Edward’s head from the door frame just as she had been schooled to do many years ago (“Careful, my rose. You need to watch the baby’s head. You’ll need to know this when you give me a perfect spare”).   
Jane was sitting on her bed, legs folded primly. Her face betrayed her nerves, the blue eyes so like Edward’s were full of tears. When Kitty entered the room, Jane jerked her head up quickly to look at the small bundle in her arms, but jolted back down just as fast. Kitty sat down next to her, holding Edward as gently as possible. The baby seemed to sense the tense atmosphere of the room, for he opened his eyes and gave his best attempt at a gummy smile. 

Jane gasped slightly when her baby came into her full field of vision, lifting a cautious finger to stroke his soft skin. Edward shifted in Kitty’s arms, and Jane pulled her finger back like she’d been burned.  
“Jane…” Kitty murmured softly. Jane looked at her young friend, her expression not unlike a deer caught in the headlights of Anne’s neon green Jeep. “Would you like to hold him?” she continued in the same tone of voice. Jane looked faint for a second, then nodded quickly, almost as if she was afraid Kitty would take the baby away if she took too long to choose. 

Kitty smiled at her reassuringly.  
“You know how to hold him, Jane. I’ll slip him into your arms, and just make sure you watch his head, okay?”. Jane gave an affirmative squeak, and so Kitty carefully transferred the baby Jane had gone through so much for into her waiting arms.

Jane gave a small sigh of relief when Edward didn’t start crying at his mother’s touch. Instead, he looked up at her with his big, curious eyes and blinked softly.   
“He knows me,” she choked out, her voice filled with tears. “He doesn’t think I’m a stranger.”  
Kitty gave her a small smile and slipped out of the room. Jane didn’t even notice she’d left, she was too engrossed in her beautiful baby boy.

Edward gave Jane another soft mewl, and she gazed at him, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.   
“Hi, baby boy.” she whispered gently, stroking his cute little face, giggling slightly when he scrunched up his nose. “I’m your mummy. We missed our time together last time around, but I promise I’ll never miss anything now. You’re going to grow up big and strong, and I’m going to be there for your everything.”. Edward squirmed in her arms, and she placed a kiss on his downy head. “I’ll take that as an okay.” she said, laughing.   
They remained quiet for some time after that, Jane just drinking in the baby smell and the baby feet and the baby everything. She knew she’d have to get up eventually, but for now she was content to stay here, feed Edward his bottle when he needed it, and watch everything she had missed back long ago.

Meanwhile, Kitty had gone back into the hallway, intent on waking Elizabeth up and bringing her to see her mother, but she heard the front door open. Figuring that the sobbing sounds coming from Anne’s room meant her cousin could use a little more time before she saw her daughter, she took a deep breath and started down the stairs, deciding to intercept Anna and Cathy before they saw the teenager in the living room and interrupted Mary and Catherine’s reunion.

The two were still in the front entranceway when Kitty came down, so it was a simple matter, really, to convince them to follow her upstairs. She paused at the entrance to her room, then nodded to herself. The best place to talk was her room, because that was the best way to get them to believe her.  
“Just make sure that you’re quiet, okay?” she whispered. Anna and Cathy looked confused.  
“I mean, sure, but what’s going on, Kit?” Anne asked, taming her normal volume slightly, although Cathy still winced.   
“You’ll see.”   
She pushed the door open slowly, relief flooding through her when she saw that the tiny body in her bed hadn’t even stirred. Anna and Cathy stopped in their tracks when they noticed the toddler, expressions of shock apparent on their faces. Kitty made sure they got inside fully, closed the door, and went to stand next to the bed. Cathy spoke first, her hands fiddling with the hem of her shirt nervously.  
“Um...Kitty, is that-”  
“Elizabeth.” Kitty confirmed, nodding. Anna shook her head in disbelief, crossing the room in three steps and perching on the edge of the bed, drinking in the little girl she hadn’t seen in so long.  
“What-how-” she stuttered, the shock rendering even her speechless.  
Kitty crouched next to her young cousin, brushing a red curl out of her flushed face.  
“Mary showed up on the doorstep today, when you were all out, Elizabeth clutching one hand, and a baby carrier with Edward in the other.” she explained. “They just showed up a few weeks ago, Mary said. She found a note saying to find us and has been looking ever since.”   
“Wow.” Cathy said, her voice choked with emotion. “That’s-wow.”. Anna nodded, eyes filling with tears. She stroked Elizabeth’s soft skin, smiling down at her former stepdaughter.

El had apparently inherited Anne’s ability to sleep through anything less than an actual bomb exploding in her room, because she’d barely even twitched in all the times Kitty had come in and out. They all stayed still for several minutes, just listening to Elizabeth’s steady breathing and drinking in the child they’d all known and loved in different ways. Eventually, Cathy broke the silence once more.  
“So, Mary and Edward are back too?” she asked quietly, hands going back to play with her shirt. Kitty nodded.  
“Mary’s fifteen, and we think Edward is about a few weeks old. Elizabeth is two and a half, well, two years and eight months, if you ask her.”  
“The same age they were when they lost their mothers.” Anna said in wonderment.   
“Yes, exactly.” she replied. Cathy shook her head in wonder.  
“Do they-do they remember everything?” she asked, her voice much smaller than Kitty had ever heard it. She placed a gentle hand on Cathy’s knee, rubbing circles on it to calm her down as she answered the question she knew both women were curious about.  
“Not exactly,” she said, her voice wavering slightly. “Elizabeth remembers up to when Anne died. We don’t know exactly how much, but I’m sure when she and Anne talk we’ll learn more. Edward doesn’t remember anything, as far as we know, he’s just a baby.”  
“And-and Mary?” Cathy asked, dreading the answer.  
“Mary remembers everything. Everything up to her death.” Kitty answered, privately feeling terrible for the girl.   
“Even the burnings?” Anna asked, her voice taking on a much graver tone.  
“Especially the burnings.” Kitty confirmed.  
“Does she-does she regret it?” Cathy questioned, her voice becoming more harsh.   
“I’m not sure.” Kitty said, shrugging sadly. “I think she’s very conflicted, because what she’s seen in this century, even for the short time she’s been here, is very different from what she taught herself and was taught. I definitely don’t think she regrets anything really heavily yet. She called Anne a whore when I was talking to her earlier.”  
“Wow.” Anna breathed in, continuing to stroke Elizabeth’s hand.   
“Well, yeah.” Kitty responded. “I’m sure she’ll figure it out eventually. Catalina will force her and Anne into a room together to talk things out if need be.”  
The others murmured assent, and it was at that moment that Elizabeth chose to wake up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please review! and remember, you can always reach me on instagram @gleefully_musical if you have any questions or need to talk. I will always have time for that.
> 
> love you all! the support for this story amazes me every day, so thank you.


	4. mother and daughter forever and ever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mary and Catherine finally see each other after centuries apart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S HERE!   
> I'm very pleased with how this chapter turned out, and I hope you all like it. The outpouring of support I've received for this story, and my characterization of Mary in particular, is absolutely amazing and I really appreciate it.  
> I hope you enjoy!

Meanwhile, Mary was hovering cautiously right outside the living room, hidden from view of her mother, who she could hear breathing steadily from inside the room. Mary was familiar enough with her mother to know that Catherine of Aragon was praying, the deep breaths being something she did to keep herself focused and to keep herself from showing any emotion through the mask she’d been schooled on since childhood. She knew this because she had done it too, careful, deep breaths being a comfort throughout her whole life. 

She could hear Catalina moving around now, and she figured her mother was fidgeting, waiting for her arrival anxiously. Mary was ready to step inside, but something was holding her back. She knew that it was anxiety, coming in the form of a pounding headache and a tight knot in the bottom of her stomach. The last time she had been this anxious was in 1536, just after her father had married the fair stepmother she saw as a saviour. Henry had invited his twenty year old daughter back to court for the first time since a while before his “marriage” to the whore who had ripped Mary’s happy family apart, and she had felt like she was going to throw up at any moment. 

The whole thing had been one of the most terrifying experiences of her life, and one of the most joyful. Henry had recognized her as his daughter, and she had met Jane Seymour, the wonderful lady who had won his heart away from Anne Boleyn and brought Mary back to the Papa she adored with her whole heart. Mary supposed Anne was living here, because Katherine Howard, the child who had taken so much of her father’s adoration, had said she would take Elizabeth to her mother. She thought that she had spotted Anne in the kitchen when she had needed the washroom. Why on earth would her mother voluntarily live under the same roof as the woman who had taken everything from her? She shook her head violently, trying to clear the distressing thoughts. Her mother was here. Her mother! She hadn’t seen Catherine in so long, she couldn’t let the concubine destroy this moment.

Mary had made a slight noise when she had shaken her head, and Catalina was paying much too close attention to have missed it.   
“Mary?” she called out, her voice slipping into a slight Spanish accent, as it always did when she was nervous or excited. “Is that you, mija?”  
Mary stepped inside the room fully, smoothing down her shirt as if there was still a full Tudor dress there.  
“Yes, Mama. It’s me.” she said, moving to the other side of the couch, so that she was in full view of her mother.  
Aragon’s first thought was that Mary looked just the same as she had the last time she had seen her, except for her eyes. Her eyes were filled with pain, the little light she had still had in the late 1520s gone, replaced with a river of sorrow. Catalina’s eyes filled with tears, and she opened her arms wide.  
“Come here, my darling.” she said, catching the teenager in her embrace when Mary fell into her arms, crying.  
“Mama-I missed you!” she choked out, curling into the arms she hadn’t felt in so long. Aragon tried to hide her tears, but she was unsuccessful. She began to stroke Mary’s hair, just as she had when the princess was young and needed comforting.  
“Shhhh, shhh, mija. It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

They stayed like that for a long time. Both women had missed the other too much to let go. Eventually, Mary pulled out of her mother’s embrace and sat down next to her on the couch, folding her arms like she always did (and Henry always had) when she needed to ask a question that she wasn’t sure the other person would like to answer.   
“Why are you living here with her?” Mary asked, a look of disgust painting her face. Catalina sighed. She had known this question was coming.  
“Sweetheart-“  
Mary cut her off.  
“No, Mama! She ruined everything! Why are you choosing to sleep under the same roof as that whore?”  
Aragon shot her daughter a stern look, the resemblance to Isabella prominent.  
“Mary, do not call your sister’s mother a whore.” she chastised.   
“She is!” Mary cried, indignant. “She stole your husband! Elizabeth is a bastard, not me! Everyone knows that.” she finished quietly, pleadingly.   
“Mary Tudor, who I choose to live with is none of your business. I promise we will have a discussion about this later. I also guarantee that you will need to have a discussion with Anne at some point very soon. Do you understand?” Catherine asked, leveling Mary with one glance. The teenager looked at her hands.  
“Yes, Mama.” she said softly.  
“Please don’t let Anne ruin us seeing each other again.” Aragon pleaded. “It’s been so long, love. I want to spend time with you without your father’s decisions looming over us. Do you agree?”. Mary didn’t even pause to contemplate this before she looked up and nodded.  
“I agree.”  
“Good,” Aragon said, pleased. “what shall we do first?”  
Mary looked uncomfortable for a moment, but quickly slipped the royal mask back over her face. Catherine had a trained eye to such things, however, and she merely raised one perfect eyebrow.  
“Mary?” she prodded. The teen sighed.  
“I don’t feel comfortable in these clothes.” she admitted. “They’re so tight. Do you have anything more-“  
“Tudor?” Catherine said, nodding. “Not here, you wouldn’t fit my clothes and Kitty and Anne don’t exactly wear clothes that would help with your problem.”  
“I don’t want to wear their clothes.” Mary said quickly.  
“Okay.” Aragon said, nodding in understanding. “We’ll go shopping. They won’t have any Tudor dresses lying around, but I’m sure we can find something with a skirt that won’t make you uncomfortable, mija.”  
“Can we really?” Mary asked, her eyes going big. “Shopping, by ourselves?”  
“Of course!” Catalina said, grinning. She stuck her hand out for her daughter to grab. “We’ll go right now.”

They left immediately, Aragon throwing a quick shout over her shoulder, though she doubted anyone would be in the state of mind to hear her. Mary didn’t have anything she needed to bring, so Catalina grabbed her purse and the car keys, making sure not to take the ones to Anne’s Jeep, and ushered her daughter out the door.  
Mary was awed by the car. Aragon doubted she’d ever ridden in one before. The former queen was running her fingers over every inch of the interior, a look of awe on her face. When Catherine started the engine, Mary jumped, but quickly regained her bearings.  
“Have you not ridden in a car yet, Mary?” Catherine asked. Mary shook her head self-consciously.  
“No, I’m not old enough.” she said quietly. “We did ride on the big thing, the tube?”.  
“Yes, the tube.”   
“Yes, well, we rode on it once, but Elizabeth kept asking so many questions that people were staring at us, and from then on we just walked. It was easier, anyways, I don’t have any money.” Mary explained, shaking her head and laughing slightly.  
Catherine looked over at her daughter and smiled, feeling happier than she had in a very long time.   
The rest of the ride was fairly uneventful, except for a small incident where Mary was frightened by the radio and the automatic windows. When Aragon pulled into the parking lot of the local shopping mall, she heard Mary let out a big sigh of relief, then suck in a breath of shock.  
“It’s very large.”  
“It is,” she replied, laughing slightly, remembering how she had felt when she first came back. “Shall we go in?”

Catalina very quickly realized that she had absolutely no idea how to find clothes for a fifteen year old girl that didn’t include incredibly tight pants and shirts or track pants and hoodies. Mary looked like a fish out of water among all the other giggling girls, walking slowly up and down the aisles, shoulders sagging slightly, a large departure from her usual ramrod straight posture. They found a few dresses, but for the most part, the trip was not getting the hoped-for results. After paying for the little amount of clothing, Aragon led her daughter out of the store and brought her over to a bench nearby.  
“Would you like to go home, mija?” she asked quietly. Mary shrugged.   
“Do you know any other stores?”she asked, voice quivering slightly. Catalina sat down next to her, shaking her head.   
“Not really, honey. Why don’t we go back home and you can eat something, okay? You can put on one of these new things and I’ll look through some of the rejects from Anne and Katherine’s closets. Nothing they’ve ever worn,” she said firmly, raising a hand to stop the objection she knew was coming, “but people sometimes drop things off here and they don’t need it or want it. Plus, Jane sometimes gets a little overexcited when she shops, and her style isn’t exactly what those two want. I’m sure we have something somewhere you can slip on until I find clothes you like.”  
Mary nodded, a small smile slipping onto her face. “Thank you, Mama.” she said, giving her mother a tight hug.  
Catherine smiled at her daughter. “Of course, sweetheart. Anything for you.”

The ride back home was quiet, both women just enjoying where they were. When they pulled into the driveway, Aragon turned to face Mary.  
“Mary, I need you to listen to me. Anne and Katherine are going to be in the house when you get inside. I know you don’t have as big of a problem with Katherine, but they will be there. They will probably be at dinner, and they will be at breakfast tomorrow, honey. You need to learn to deal with them. Can you do that? I promise we’ll have a big talk about whatever you’re feeling about Anne-”  
“That she’s a father-stealing whore.”  
“-yes, okay. We’ll deal with that. But I need you to be civil. This house is a community. We do our best not to put each other down, okay? Your personal feelings are okay, for now, but don’t make Anne hurt because of them. I guarantee she feels terrible.”  
Mary snorted in disbelief, then sighed.   
“Fine.” she agreed. “But can I please see Jane soon?”  
Aragon smiled at her.   
“You miss her, don’t you?”  
“Very much.” Mary said, her voice thick with tears.   
“Well, I’m sure she would like to see you too, honey. Tell you what. We’ll go inside and bring these upstairs to my room-would you like to sleep in my room tonight? Just until we figure out sleeping arrangements for you. I’m sure Edward will stay with Jane, and I imagine Anne will keep Elizabeth with her, at least for a while, but you’re a young adult. You need your own space, and I’m not sure where-”  
“Mum.” Mary cut her off. “I’d love to share with you.”  
“Okay, good.” Catalina said, trying to hide the massive smile that came on her face upon hearing that. “Okay. Well, anyways, you can come up to my room and get settled and then we’ll see if maybe you can go hang with Jane for a bit. Does that sound good?”  
“It sounds perfect, Mama. Thank you.”

They took the things inside, and Mary stumbled upstairs to put away her things and change. Aragon stayed back to talk to Kitty, Anna and Cathy, who were anxiously waiting downstairs in the kitchen, and gave them a quick update on Mary. By the time she finally got upstairs, Anna’s incessant questions finally having ended, Mary was passed out face down on the bed, still in full clothing.   
Her heart melted slightly, and she quietly tiptoed over to the bed and rolled her daughter over. Mary had always been a light sleeper, like Henry in his early days and Catherine herself, but she miraculously didn’t awaken, even as her mother carefully tugged the jeans off of her and tucked her under the covers. Brushing away a tear, Aragon dropped a soft kiss on her daughter’s forehead and just sat there for a while, drinking her in. She could remember doing this when Mary was a baby, terrified that a gust of wind would come in and take her away, just like all her other babies. Once she got through that fragile first year, watching Mary sleep became something she did when she had extra time, the tiny body breathing in and out as she offered thanks to God for this perfect little girl.  
She hadn’t been able to do it for many years before she died, once Henry started tightening the noose around both of their necks.

Some thirty minutes later, she finally stood up and left the room, closing the door quietly. Muffled singing could be heard from Jane’s room, and she thought that maybe, just maybe, she could make out a toddler’s silly babble from Anne’s. Going down the stairs, she was careful not to make any noise, and headed immediately for the computer once she hit the first floor. Typing frantically, she pumped a triumphant fist in the air once she found the thing she was looking for. Kitty raced to her side, concerned.  
“Are you all right, Lina?” she questioned, her big eyes looking worried. Catherine smiled.   
“Katherine, do you know somewhere nearby where I could buy a lot of fabric?”  
“Um-no?” the teen said, confused. “Ask Jane though, she’d know. Can I ask why?”  
“I’m going to make my Mary a dress.”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> leave a comment, please? I love you all! thanks for reading.


	5. Most Precious Thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anne and Elizabeth finally meet again!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, so the anne/elizabeth reunion was INCREDIBLY hard to write. therefore, it's taken me a while and I apologize. it's also not as long as I would have liked. still 1.5k, but I'm sorry, I wish I could have provided more. more is definitely on the way though! it just didn't fit in this chapter. 
> 
> I wrote the end of the chapter while listening to 'The King's Wife", which is a new musical about anne and aragon! no songs are released on any platforms except youtube and instagram to my knowledge, and they've only got six songs released, but it is SO GOOD! please check it out.
> 
> fun fact: the date that this will be released is the 91st anniversary of both the new york stock exchange crash and the official day that women in canada were officially recognized as people under the law! yay! oppression. I live in Canada so there's your fun fact of the day.

“Kitty?” Elizabeth asked tiredly, rubbing her eyes with one hand and sitting up. Kitty smiled at her younger cousin.  
“Yes, Elizabeth?” she asked, anxiety seizing up inside her that she’d done something wrong and somehow wrecked Anne’s daughter before she’d even seen her.  
“Who are they?” she questioned, pointing a chubby finger at Anna and Cathy.  
“That’s Anna and Cathy, El.” Kitty replied. The two in question gave Elizabeth bright smiles.  
“Okay.” Elizabeth said, climbing out of the bed, apparently no longer interested. “I sleeped a long time.” she remarked offhandedly.  
“Slept, Elizabeth.” Cathy corrected gently. Anne’s daughter thought this over for a moment, tilting her head slightly, then nodded.  
“Okay.”  
Kitty shot Anna a confused look, desperately asking for help. She knew nothing about children! Anna didn’t either, not really, but she’d at least spent more time with older Elizabeth. What could they do to distract her?  
It turned out that Elizabeth didn’t need a distraction. Soon enough, she was playing with one of the reversible sequin pillows Kitty kept by her bed, repeating the colours to herself like a mantra. The older women kept their distance from her, no one really knowing how to deal with a toddler. Eventually, that bored her, and she turned her head to gaze at Kitty.  
“You’re pretty.”   
“Um-thank you, Elizabeth.” Kitty replied, blushing slightly.  
“Welcome.”  
She returned to the pillow for a few more moments, then turned back to Kitty.  
“Can I see Mama now? You said she was here.”  
“I guess-she’s just down the hall, I can take you there-”  
“I go.” she said firmly, a hint of both Henry and Anne’s trademark stubbornness showing up in the glare she leveled all three women with.  
“Okay, Elizabeth.” Cathy said gently. “It’s right up the stairs, okay? In the attic. Do you know what an attic is?”  
“Yes.”   
And with that, she turned and left, leaving three stunned former queens behind.  
“I really don’t think she knows what an attic is-” Kitty began, but Anna cut her off.  
“She’ll find it. If she goes in the wrong door, Jane will show her the right room. It’s okay, Kitty. Take a breath, love.”  
“Okay.” Kitty agreed, sinking down onto her bed. Anna sat down next to her, Cathy following suit. They each let out a breath, then started laughing.  
“Man, she’s going to be a handful!” Anna exclaimed.  
“Just like her mother.” Cathy smiled.

They didn’t need to worry. Elizabeth found the door fairly quickly, after only one wrong turn into the bathroom. She tiptoed to the piece of wood blocking her from her mama, a small smile creeping across her face. 

Anne had been crying now for quite some time, both from happiness and something else. She wasn’t quite sure what it was- fear? Guilt, maybe? Whatever the reason, she had calmed down somewhat, and she was wondering what was taking Kitty so long to bring her her baby girl. Just as she was about to get up and go to her cousin’s room herself, the door opened a crack and she could see a hint of red hair poke through. She smiled to herself and settled back on the bed, ready to play a game she’d been playing with Lizzie since the child was old enough to think for herself.   
Sighing loudly, she looked around and pretended to pout.  
“Where has Elizabeth gone? I can’t find her anywhere!” she exclaimed, smirking when she heard a little giggle. “That’s too bad, I guess I’ll just have to play this fun game without her.”  
A small squawk came from outside the door then, and Anne grinned, turning towards the door just in time for her daughter’s grand entrance. Elizabeth threw the door open and hurtled at her mother at rapid speed, launching herself onto Anne’s lap.  
“No, Mama!” she cried. “Don’t play the fun game without me!”  
Anne choked back a lump threatening to rise in her throat and smoothed her daughter’s hair.   
“Okay, Lizzie. I won’t play the game without you.” she soothed, running her hands all over her daughter’s arms and trying not to cry.  
“Promise?”  
“I promise.”   
“Okay!” Elizabeth smiled, climbing out of Anne’s lap and turning to face her mother. Anne took the opportunity to gaze at her, soaking in the small face she’d missed so much. She reached out a tentative hand and joined it with the toddler’s small one, holding back a squeak of joy at the small warmth that was encompassing her palm. She was almost distracted completely from the game she had promised, but Elizabeth wouldn’t sit still for long. She was too like her parents for that.  
“What game are we playing, Mama?”  
Anne cursed inwardly, frantically searching her brain for a game she could play with Elizabeth that wasn’t too loud and kept them in her room. There weren’t any fish in here, or anywhere within short walking distance. She didn’t really have books or toys for a toddler. Unknowingly, she began tapping her fingers to the rhythm of a song Kitty had been blasting the week before, and Lizzie got an idea.  
“Dance please.” she commanded, hopping off the bed with a small oomph and beckoning her mother with the imperial finger her father had taught her from a very young age.  
“Pardon, sweetheart?”  
“Dance now, Mama.”  
Anne smiled at her and got up off the bed, walking over to her speaker and plugging in her phone.  
“What music would you like, Princess?”  
Elizabeth’s eyes got very large as she stared at the speaker.  
“The music comes from there?”  
“Yep. Right from here, see?”. Anne pressed play on a playlist, quickly turning it off. Whoops. That was definitely not PG.  
“Whoa. No Mark?”  
“No Mark.” she confirmed, nodding her head at her daughter. Elizabeth tilted her head in confusion for a short moment, and then nodded in agreement.  
“Okay. Play it now.”  
And so Anne and her daughter started a dance party, one that wasn’t too loud and included a LOT of instrumentals because Anne didn’t know many kid’s songs, and she didn’t want to have to explain why there were suddenly other voices in the room too.  
It lasted for about half an hour, until Elizabeth, cheeks flushed from exertion, plopped down on the floor and pouted up at Anne. Anne paused the playlist and went over to sit next to her.   
“What’s wrong, ma cherie?” she asked, running another hand over Elizabeth’s mass of red tangles.  
“Where did you go?”  
“Pardon, Elizabeth?” she asked, turning her head in confusion to look right into her daughter’s eyes.  
“When you left before. Lady Bryan said you had to go somewhere and you weren’t coming back. Why are you here? Where did you go?” Elizabeth asked, tilting her head slightly to the left and, Anne felt, giving her mother a stare that seemed to seep through her whole body.  
“Well...um, you see, Lizzie-” she began, stuttering awkwardly as she tried to come up with an explanation. Elizabeth sighed loudly and crossed her arms.  
“Was Papa mean?”   
“What?”  
“Papa. When we were in the gardens and he was angry and you were shouting and it made my head hurt. Was he mean? Is that why you left?”  
“No, sweetheart. I had to leave because some very bad men made up bad things about me, and Papa believed them.” Anne explained, trying to put as little of the blame on Henry as possible. Elizabeth could learn that when she was older. For now, she’d only just left the kind Papa she loved so much.  
“He shouldn’t have done that. You wouldn’t do bad things.” Elizabeth stated, a cross expression forming on her small face.  
“No, I wouldn’t, Elizabeth. But sometimes people believe things that aren’t true because it makes things easier for them.”  
“Oh. Mama?”  
“Yes, love?”  
“Lady Bryan said you weren’t coming back, ever, like Mary’s mama. But Mary’s mama is here and you’re here, but Lady Bryan isn’t here. Where’s Lady Bryan?”  
Anne groaned internally, cursing the curious nature of both herself and Henry that had led to this, coupled with the normal constant questions of a two year old.  
“Lady Bryan went to the place where Catalina and I were, but we’ve come back. You came back too, Elizabeth. This is our second chance, you see, sweetheart? No one is going to take me away from you this time. I can be with you all the time.”  
“Really and truly?”  
“I promise that I will do everything in my power to stay with you, ma petite. I love you so much, Lizzie. I don’t want to ever leave you again.” Anne promised, tears falling down her cheeks. Elizabeth looked up at her mother.  
“Don’t cry, Mama.” she said, gently wiping away Anne’s tears. “Don’t be sad.”  
“No, love. These are happy tears.” Anne reassured, taking her small child into her arms and squeezing her tightly.   
“Good. I’m happy too, Mama. I love you and I’m glad the bad men didn’t get to take you away forever.”  
“Me too, sweetheart.” Anne replied, stroking the red hair in front of her and breathing in her favourite smell in the world. “Me too.”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> leave a review! I love you all. also follow the reunion show on instagram bc aimie kept asking us to tell people and I know no one.
> 
> have a good day/night you lovely people!


	6. Family Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane and Mary reunite. The group has their first family dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> holy, it's been a long time! I'm so sorry! it was the end of the quadmester, and I had two courses with heavy loads, so things were pretty crazy for a while. I do have english now, but my second week is personal fitness, so I'll try to update more on those weeks. 
> 
> how's everyone doing? get your christmas shopping started soon if you're doing online orders. I ordered most of my stuff last week, and some of it isn't coming until the 18th of december.
> 
> I hope you all like this chapter. It's mostly in Mary's head, and a bit of Anne and Jane. just kind of a way for you all to see what they're thinking.

Jane didn’t know how long she’d been staring at Edward. It seemed that as soon as he was in her arms, she couldn’t pull herself away from his perfect self. She figured it’d been hours, however, when she heard a faint knock on the door.   
“Come in.” she said, whisper-quiet, not trusting herself to speak loudly, lest she disturb the baby in her arms.  
Mary peeked her head around the door and Jane’s heart melted for the second time that day. Knowing the girl might be anxious to come in, she gave Mary a beaming smile of welcome, which was quickly returned, a red blush spreading across the teen’s cheeks.  
Mary entered the room on tiptoe, careful not to disturb the sleeping baby. She paused when she was standing right next to Jane, cautious about overstepping her boundaries and making her former stepmother feel uncomfortable.   
“Sweetheart, sit down next to me.” Jane said, patting the space beside her on the bed and shooting Mary a knowing smile. “You won’t wake him up.”.   
Mary gratefully grinned back, sitting down as gently as possible beside Jane and turning to face her, sparing nary a glance for Edward. She’d been taking care of him for days. She hadn’t seen Jane in nearly 500 years.  
Jane knew that Mary would be too mindful of etiquette to speak before she felt Jane was ready. The girl still probably had the thought of treating Jane like she was the queen and Mary the illegitimate daughter. Reaching out a hand from under Edward, she placed it on Mary’s arm and looked at her reassuringly.  
“I’ve missed you, Mary. Very much.”   
“I’ve missed you too, your Majesty.” Mary said, slipping Jane’s formal title in due to her anxiety.   
“Just Jane, Mary. It’s always been just Jane, you know that.”  
“I know.” Mary whispered, tears creeping up her throat. Jane sensed the waterworks coming, and, knowing Mary would never let them show, drew the girl into a one-armed hug and squeezed her tightly.  
Mary relaxed into Jane, leaning her head on her shoulder and just watching the tiny chest of her half-brother rise and fall. Jane had been her saviour, in a way. Elizabeth’s mother (she was trying to think of the whore positively, to make her mother happy) had finally gotten what was coming to her, and Mary had thought she would be immediately restored. She could remember the joy she’d felt when Chapuys had informed her of the woman her father intended to take as his new wife-and her secret opinions on the state of Mary’s legitimacy and her faith. When her father had married Jane Seymour, it had been a true marriage, and Mary was truly happy for them,

When she realized that she would still need to sign the Oath in order to return to court and be in her father’s good graces, Mary was horrified and greatly saddened. She had thought that her new stepmother would have helped her father see the truth, now that the concubine-no, Elizabeth’s mother, was dead and her spell over him broken. Jane hadn’t been able to convince her father to change his mind, no one could do that. But once she met the lady who had become like a heroine in a fairytale to her, rescuing her from her miserable existence as Elizabeth’s lady-in-waiting (another one of Anne’s schemes), all of her annoyances about the Oath had gone away.  
Jane was kind, and quiet, and so unlike Anne Boleyn that Mary loved her immediately. She hadn’t had anyone who loved her since her mother died, other than Elizabeth, but she didn’t count. Mary hadn’t even been sure her own father loved her at that point, and Jane had swept in like Mary’s very own guardian angel and changed her life around.  
She had missed Jane so much, not anywhere near the hole in her heart she’d had since her mother had left her, but more than she’d missed any of her other stepmothers, and she’d had the most. Not that it was a competition, or anything. But she’d had the most.  
Jane’s gentle hand stroking her hair brought her back to reality, and she burrowed even further into the blonde woman’s comfortable shoulder, murmuring a soft thank-you.   
“You were my favourite.” she whispered.  
Jane gave her a questioning look.  
“My favourite stepmother. And I did have the most, you know.”  
“I do.” Jane replied softly. “Five.”  
“Yes. Quite a lot.”  
“Well, I won’t say that you were my favourite stepdaughter, because Elizabeth has sonic hearing like her mother, and I’m pretty sure she’d hear me somehow. I love you both. But I’m very glad I got the chance to be your stepmother, Mary. I just wish I’d been able to hang around a bit longer. Maybe get you properly betrothed.”  
“I do too.” Mary said, tears coming to her eyes at the thought of Philip. “But Jane?”  
“Yes, sweetheart?”  
“Just because I got my mum back-I don’t want to lose you, not again. Do you think we could do something together sometimes? No Mum, no Edward, no Elizabeth. Just Mary and Jane.”  
“Just Mary and Jane.” Jane replied, rolling the thought over in her head. “Of course, Mary. I would love to do that with you. I can take you to Starbucks! We can get coffee?”  
“Coffee?”Mary asked, her eyes wide at the strange word.  
“We’ll figure something out,” Jane laughed, squeezing Mary’s shoulder affectionately. “Now, come on, love. It’s time for dinner.

Dinner at the queens’ house was generally a very noisy affair, largely due to Anne, Anna and Kitty. Anne and Anna had started food fights a few too many times, and Kitty often spoke very loudly, forgetting to use her inside voice. Jane would try and calm them down, but by now, she’d all but given up. They were just too wild to be contained.  
She didn’t have to worry about calming anyone today. Cathy and Anna were placing platters of food on the table, both of them quiet, which was very odd on Anna’s part. Kitty was sitting on her hands and rocking back and forth slowly, looking like she’d swallowed her tongue. Aragon was also fidgeting with the cross she wore around her neck, but as soon as Mary entered the room behind Jane, she stood up and led her daughter to the chair beside her, giving her a tight hug and beginning to explain all the food in front of them in soft, quick Spanish.   
Anne and Elizabeth weren’t there yet, Jane realized. She wasn’t quite sure if she was grateful for that, because Mary might have been more quick to anger if she wasn’t with her mother, or worried. Anne liked to make a grand entrance, and she knew Elizabeth had inherited that particular trait from both parents. She wasn’t sure how Mary would react if Anne came in with her usual pomp and circumstance. The others all knew that it was just simply Anne being ridiculous, but Mary didn’t have any context, and she also hated the woman with a burning passion.  
She didn’t have to worry. Anne came down the stairs quietly, with absolutely no clumsy fall, or fake trumpet noises, or announcer voice to let them know she had finally arrived. Anne had always been fashionably late-even back at court, but she was just late this time. Elizabeth was balanced in her mother’s arms, blinking owlishly at them all with Anne’s dark eyes. When she spotted Mary, she gave a frantic wave at her older sister, which was returned with a smile. Anne sat down at the end of the table, placing El on her lap and pulling over some food to put on their shared plate.

Mary was relieved when she saw that Elizabeth was still excited to see her. She wouldn’t admit it, but there had been a part of her that worried Anne would poison El against her, even in this short time they’d been together. She knew that the woman had never done so the first time around, but her Papa had been there to protect her then. Who knew what Anne was capable of once she was free from Henry’s judgemental eye?  
Mary had never been able to have a child herself. She had tried- god, she had tried!-but nothing had ever happened. She wasn’t sure if this was her fault (both of her parents seemed to have suffered from fertility problems), or if the fact that her father had never married her off, and neither had her brother in turn, had simply made her too old to conceive once she was finally married. She wouldn’t ever tell anyone, for fear of Anne finding out, or even Jane, but she’d always treated Elizabeth and Edward somewhat like what she imagined her own children would be like. Diverting all of her maternal feelings into her siblings had worked, until they had gotten too old to listen to what she told them and formed their own opinions.  
Elizabeth especially had been like her own little daughter. Their age gap was about the same distance in years that most princesses had their first child at, she’d lived with El for the first two and half years of the child’s life, and then for other periods of shorter time. Elizabeth had lost her mother right after Catherine had died, and even though Mary hated the whore with a burning passion, she appreciated what it was to lose a mother. She was eternally grateful she’d gotten that much time with her own mother, in comparison to her siblings. Mary had decided that she would fill that hole as best she could for Elizabeth, and the rapid succession of stepmothers afterwards had only reinforced the feelings that she needed to be a constant for her sister. Their father certainly wasn’t.   
When Elizabeth had become Mary’s rival in everything she did, it had felt like a stab in the back. She had directed that passion into the hatred for her sister, everything about the teen that reminded her of Anne only fueling the fire. Now, she got a chance to start over with her sister. Elizabeth didn’t remember their past, but Mary knew where everything had gone wrong, and she wouldn’t let it happen again. She needed to make sure that Anne Boleyn couldn’t influence her daughter too much. She needed to ensure that history didn’t repeat itself.  
“Mary?”   
Her mother’s voice broke through her train of thought, and she jolted upright, turning to face her.  
“Yes, Mama?”  
“Would you like bread, sweetheart?”  
“Oh-yes, thank you.” she stammered, not missing the suspicious look Anne was giving her. She supposed she had been staring in the woman’s direction for several minutes now. Her mother passed her the bread, and Mary took a slice without really thinking, still trapped in her own mind. Looking back over at Elizabeth and Anne, she could see that her sister’s mother was trying to give El some milk. The toddler’s tiny face was scrunched up in revulsion, but Anne didn’t seem to notice. Mary sighed.  
“Elizabeth hates milk, Lady Anne. She would never drink that.” she informed Anne haughtily, making sure to stress the title that Anne deserved, and feeling proud about the fact that she knew more about Elizabeth than her own mother.  
“Thank you, Mary.” Anne said through gritted teeth, placing the glass down across from her cousin and pouring a sippy cup of water instead. Elizabeth beamed at Mary.  
“Thank you, Mary! I love you!” she exclaimed, blissfully unaware of the tension in the room. Mary gave her sister a smile and turned back to her mother, who was buttering Mary’s bread like she was five years old again. Actually, her mother had never buttered Mary’s bread. Mary had never buttered her own bread in her life. But she imagined it was something parents only did when one was very young, like Elizabeth’s age. However, she wasn’t going to complain. Thanking Catherine quietly, she poured herself a glass of water. Jane had explained on the way downstairs that water in this century was actually clean, for the most part, and any water in the house was definitely safe to drink.

Anne watched as Mary Tudor took a cautious sip of her water, smiling slightly at the shocked expression that appeared on the girl’s face. She could remember her first few times having water in the 21st century quite clearly. It had been a shock to the system, for sure.   
Elizabeth pulled her out of her reverie by knocking over her sippy cup. Anne silently thanked Cathy for having the good sense to buy some before dinner, as the plastic had protected her from having to clean up a spill. Her daughter looked up at her with large, innocent eyes, giving her a grin.  
“Sorry Mama.” she apologized. Anne shook her head.  
“It’s okay, sweetheart. Be careful next time, okay?”  
“Oui.” Elizabeth said, beaming with pride at her use of French. Anne felt her heart swell with joy, and pulled Elizabeth more closely into her.   
"Très bien, ma petite.” she praised.   
“Mama?” Elizabeth whispered at what she seemed to think was a normal volume, although Anne’s ear did not agree.  
“Yes, Lizzie?”  
“Can Mary come play tonight?”  
Anne grimaced inwardly.   
“Yes, of course, if she would like to. Ask her politely, Elizabeth.” she answered, fighting back the tears that were threatening to come. Mary seemed to know so much more about her own daughter than she did. She should have remembered that Elizabeth didn’t like milk! Mary had 25 years of Elizabeth’s life to go off of, and even when Anne had been alive, she’d probably seen the child more than Anne had. But Anne felt so inadequate as a mother. She knew that Mary had been a very important part of Lizzie’s life, either as a positive or negative influence, depending on the year. But Lizzie didn’t remember that! Now was Anne’s chance to finally get to know her daughter for a much longer time. She couldn’t lose any of that to Mary.  
Looking across the table at her former stepdaughter, she couldn’t help but feel slightly bad. Mary looked excited at the prospect of playing with her younger sister, and she was so young. Even though she felt much older, she looked like a teenager, and Anne couldn’t hate her. She’d never been able to fully hate Mary. She remembered the small girl who was sick so often and loved to come visit her mother and show off her Spanish, back from when she’d been Catalina’s lady in waiting. That little girl had gone through so much because of her parents and Anne, and she’d always felt bad about it. However, back in the 1500s, Mary had been a threat to Elizabeth’s security as heir, and Anne could admit that she had wished the girl would just disappear sometimes.   
When she’d read about Mary locking her younger sister up in the Tower, where she could see the place her own mother, and many other family members, had been executed on her daily walk, Anne was seized with rage. She hadn’t spoken to Aragon for several hours, then had realized that was stupid, so she’d resorted to just being quiet and subdued. She’d eventually gotten over it, as much as she could, but the anger and hurt were still there.   
Mary was back now. Elizabeth loved Mary, and Mary loved her sister back. Whatever her faults, Anne knew that she loved the toddler. They would have to get along now, for Elizabeth’s sake. She wouldn’t force her baby girl to watch yet another relationship between two people she loved fall apart in front of her. Anne needed to make up with Mary, as well as she could.  
But not tonight. The children had just returned, and tonight would be for Anne and Elizabeth, and Catherine and Mary, and even Jane and Edward. Elizabeth could play with her older sister, but Anne would not confront the girl. That could wait for another time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please leave a review! love all of my readers so much, you guys are amazing. you all make my day simply by reading.


	7. Votre Majeste

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anna, Kitty and Cathy finally give you all an insight into what they're feeling right now, whilst upstairs, Elizabeth helps to bridge the gap between her stepsister and mother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's been a while, huh? I've been working on this chapter for quite some time, simply because I used to write a lot in history class at lunch, but I find I have less time in english and personal fitness, or am actually talking to others. which is good, right? I do want to be socialized. 
> 
> anyways, this chapter definitely is NOT the big anne/mary confrontation I know we're all waiting for, but it's definitely needed for our other three, who are connected to all three of the children, but not by blood. (except for they're all related, but kitty definitely has the closest claim)
> 
> I hope everyone has had a good few weeks, and I also hope you enjoy this chapter. I'm pretty proud of it.  
> (also, just a note: in my mind, the six queens are the west end people from last year: jaye'j, millie, natalie, etc, but they can be anyone you wish. I also see anne as natalie dormer because she's an icon. but for mary, I definitely am writing her as sarah bolger from the tudors, because she KILLED the role, but my mary has red hair because I'm going for the kids being historically accurate in appearance because there's so many different versions of their mums)

Once dinner was over, the three mothers immediately took their children upstairs to their rooms. Elizabeth was chattering away to both her mother and Mary, unaware of the discomfort on both of their faces. Catherine was walking behind her daughter, just breathing her in and staring at her. She was so beautiful, and Aragon was so glad she got a do-over. Jane was trailing the group, careful not to walk too fast and drop Edward, who was blinking sleepily at her with his big blue eyes.   
As they disappeared up the stairs, Anna turned to Cathy and Kitty. Both women looked slightly misty-eyed, but they met her gaze.   
“Dishes time!” she crowed, picking up Elizabeth’s sippy cup and hoisting it in the air like a trophy. The others stood up reluctantly, grabbing the dishes that were scattering the table and bringing them over to the dishwasher. They began to put them away while Cleves washed the dishes that wouldn’t fit or couldn’t be washed by machine.   
They worked in tandem for several minutes, Anna washing, Kitty drying, and Cathy putting away, but eventually, Cathy stopped and put the pot she was holding back down on the counter, halting the process.  
“Are you good?” Anna asked, noticing the tears that were beginning to gather in the other woman’s eyes. Cathy nodded quickly.  
“Yes, I’m fine. The pot just got a little heavy, that’s all.”  
Kitty shook her head.  
“That’s bullshit.” she said, smirking a little when neither of the other two reprimanded her for her language. Sometimes it was nice to do things without Jane and Catalina. “Something’s obviously the matter. We won’t judge you if you just tell us what’s going on.”she coaxed, trying to sound as encouraging and kind as possible.  
“It really is nothing,” Cathy began, but a stern look from Anna (which was slightly comical seeing as she still had the kid-sized apron they’d purchased for Elizabeth tied around her waist) stopped her in her tracks. Breathing out heavily, she fiddled with her shirt and restarted her story.   
“I’m glad that they’re back,”she said first. “So glad. I’ve missed all three of them so much. But-they aren’t my stepchildren anymore. Mary is, but we were always the least close and I don’t think she likes me. Elizabeth and Edward though, they were mine. I’d never had any children before, and I’d had stepchildren but they were so bright and so polite and perfect. I felt like they were mine in a way, and now they’re back and they won’t ever remember any of it. I know we had our ups and downs, but now they’ll just know me as Aunt Cathy and never as their stepmother.”she explained, pausing to look at the other two and gauge their reaction. Kitty was nodding slightly, and Anna, surprisingly, had tears in her eyes.  
“I fully, completely understand, Catherine.” she replied, laying a steady hand on the table and leaning into it. “Mary liked me, and she still remembers that, but she’s got her mum and Jane, who are much better parents than me. And I was never her parent anyway, our age difference was too small, but we were friends and I’m scared I’m going to lose that now that she doesn’t need me. Elizabeth and I had a special bond as well, once again more of one you would have with your older cousin or aunt, but she definitely doesn’t remember it and she’s got Anne to do crazy things with and care for her. Edward and I were close and now he’s a baby and he’ll only ever know Jane. Your feelings are valid, Cathy, and we’re feeling them too.”.   
Cathy gave her a grateful smile.   
“Thank you, Anna.”  
“Anytime, mate. I aim to please, and if that means opening up about my worries that our time-travelling former stepchildren won’t love us anymore in the kitchen, covered in dish soap and wearing an apron made for a toddler, that’s what I’ll do.”   
Kitty laughed at that, and she turned to Cathy, bubbles all over her head somehow, but a sympathetic smile etched on her face.  
“I don’t think that my worries are as big of yours…” she said slowly. “But I’m a little worried about Edward. I’m sure I’ll have a good relationship with Elizabeth still because she is my cousin and Anne wouldn’t take that away. Not that she’s going to take anything away!” she corrected. “Mary hates me and I know that, but I think she and Anne have more of a thing going on so I’ll just swoop in at the end and say sorry and then not talk to her because she scares me. But Eddie and I used to play games and things all the time. Henry kept him so closed off, you know, and Elizabeth even then thought she was too old for games, so I used to play things like peek-a-boo with him and we had all kinds of fun. And I know that I’m being selfish because Jane will still let me play with him, but it won’t be the same. Although, I am glad that Elizabeth and Edward won’t remember me getting beheaded. That was probably a bit much to handle.”.  
“Definitely.” Cathy said quietly. “Thanks, you guys. Maybe we could start doing stuff, just the three of us, with the kids sometimes. Give their mums a break, but that way we could spend time with them and ensure that we can still have a relationship?”  
“That sounds like a lovely idea, Cathy.” Anna agreed. “We’d just have to ask the others first, but I’m sure they’ll jump at the chance to get out in a few months. Kids are crazy.”  
“Yeah, we can be like built in babysitters!” Kitty cried.   
The three returned to the dishes, slightly less worried than they had been before.  
Meanwhile, Anne was having one of the most awkward hours of her life. And that was saying a lot.  
Luckily, the others had gone out and bought a few toys for Elizabeth while everything had been going on, so El was content and wasn’t asking for anything from Anne. Mary was sitting on the floor, laughing with her younger sister. Anne didn’t think she’d ever seen the teenager look that much at peace. Even at a young age, there’d always been so much on Mary’s shoulders. Now, she was finally getting to just be her.  
Anne was jolted into reality by her daughter tugging on her hand.  
“Mama! We’re playing court and we need costumes so we can dress up like all the pretty ladies in your rooms.” Elizabeth explained, looking back at Mary and raising her eyebrows emphatically. “Right, Mary?”  
“I suppose, Elizabeth. Ask politely, though.”  
“Sorry! Please, Mama?” she asked, making her eyes big and sticking out her lower lip. Anne suppressed a giggle.  
“Sure, sweetheart. I’m not sure what I have here, but I can take a look.”  
“Yay! Thank you, Mama!”  
“Thank you, Anne.” Mary echoed flatly. Anne gave her an equally flat smile, and then turned back to Elizabeth.  
“Now, what were we thinking in terms of costumes, ma cherie?”

They’d managed to find two costumes that were suitable enough for Elizabeth’s taste (Anne would be first to admit that her child may have inherited her taste for expensive clothing, but she felt that it was unfair to lay all the blame on her shoulders. Henry had also spent more than was necessary on clothing, after all.), and now the toddler was imperiously ordering her sister around, wrapped in one of Anne’s dressing gowns that was cinched at the waist by the Gucci belt Jane had bought her for Christmas last year. Mary was also in Anne’s clothing, which fit her much better than the too-big sweater that Anne was pretty sure Jane had found in her closet-left over from one of her many shopping sprees on behalf of the Howard cousins, who both didn’t appreciate the clothes that were brought back. The discomfort she’d felt at wearing Anne’s clothes was cancelled out by the joy on Elizabeth’s face as she played with her big sister while her mama watched carefully in the background.  
Anne imagined this probably felt something like a dream to Elizabeth. The girl was easily excitable, as all small children were, and visits to court to see her parents had always, in Anne’s opinion, seemed to her daughter to be a fairytale. Having Mary and Anne together was probably something that made her very happy. Probably the only thing that could improve Elizabeth’s mood even more would be if Papa came to join them.  
Henry was anything but a bad father to Elizabeth while Anne was alive. She knew he’d forgotten about her once she no longer had someone who was actively trying to promote her interests, but he had always taken a delight in the red-headed child who was, in many ways, his miniature. Delighting in showing her off to his courtiers, Elizabeth had been his pride and joy for two and a half years. Anne doubted the older Elizabeth had remembered much about this time, if anything at all, but she hoped there was still a faint recollection of the time when her father and mother had showered affection on her. 

Watching Elizabeth play with Mary, Anne felt a sense of maternal pride overwhelm her. She and Henry had made that, that intelligent child who was already looking like she’d continue to be just as smart in this life. She knew Mary hadn’t shared her younger siblings’ aptitude for learning, but the girl had received a stellar education, and she was putting it to good use by chattering to her younger half-sister in pretty French. From what Anne could gather, Elizabeth was the queen and Mary was playing all the other roles, including king, but she was currently the French ambassador, paying suit on behalf of her master in order to secure a betrothal with the princess. She doubted Elizabeth understood half of what was being said, but she was definitely gleaning enough to give responses that were well enough.

“Mama!” cried a small voice, and Anne turned to look right at her daughter.  
“Oui, ma reine?” she asked, grinning at the proud smile Elizabeth put on after hearing the title.  
“Play the ambassador! Mary needs to be the princess, ‘cause she’s pretty, and princesses are pretty.”.  
Ignoring the vanity in that statement, Anne nodded and got up from her chair, going over and curtseying to her daughter, who was sitting imperiously on Anne’s bean bag chair, holding court.  
“Of course, cherie. Shall I put on a costume, too?”  
“Yes! Put this on.” Elizabeth commanded, thrusting a beret and scarf at her mother. Anne chuckled at this, knowing that Lizzie had no idea what stereotypes she was perpetuating by getting the French ambassador to dress up in a beret.   
“D’accord, mademoiselle.” she said, shoving the hat on and throwing the scarf around her neck. “Now, let’s get started. Votre Majesté, may I discuss the many merits of the dauphin with you?”  
“You may,” Elizabeth said, nodding her head just as she’d seen her father do, and gesturing with her tiny hand at Anne. “Talk, ambassador.”  
And so Anne Boleyn began speaking in the language of her young adulthood, lapsing back into the accent she’d adopted for so many years, while Mary Tudor played along with a smile. If either of their past selves had seen them now, they’d have been confused beyond belief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, what did you think? give me a review if you'd like. I'd definitely like it:)
> 
> also, happy december as of tomorrow (when I'm publishing this), even if you don't celebrate a holiday in this month, I hope it treats you well. love to everyone! y'all rock.


	8. you promise?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elizabeth meets Catalina properly for the first time. Then, Anne and her daughter have a chat about things from long ago that really aren't that far gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I'm on a roll in regards to having chapter ideas and the inspiration to write, so I'm hoping to get you lovely humans another chapter by the end of the weekend, but obviously, things happen, so no concrete promises.
> 
> here's chapter eight! we get a little bit of lina/lizzie interaction, which I'm pretty excited to continue to write. I hope everyone enjoys it.
> 
> the scene I'm referencing with anne and elizabeth (and he*ry) is directly drawn from the tudors when I discuss exact things that happened in it, but it does have historical basis. just search it up on youtube if you really want to watch it. should be "the tudors 2x09 anne begs henry". natalie dormer made me cry in this scene so I'd recommend it unless you're feeling sad.

Anne didn’t know how long they’d been playing for. But she was pretty sure it’d been a long time, because when Catalina came and softly knocked on the door, Lizzie looked ready to fall over and pass out immediately.   
“Mary, mija, it’s time to return to the room now. Elizabeth is probably exhausted.” Catherine said in that soft way of hers, smiling fondly at the toddler, who crossed her arms and pouted.  
“I am not!”  
“Yes you are, sweetheart.” Anne chided gently. “It’s much too far past your bedtime for you not to be.”  
“I guess I’m tired.” she said, tilting her head and staring at Catalina. “Are you Mary’s mama? She said we were looking for you.”  
“I am, Elizabeth. My name is Catherine, but you can call me Lina if that’s easier.” Aragon said, taking Mary’s hand as the teen walked over to her mother.  
“Okay, Lina. That’s pretty.”  
“Thank you, carino. It’s Spanish.”  
“Like Mary’s cousin!” Elizabeth exclaimed, turning to look at her mother. “Right, Mama? Mary has cousin Philip like I have cousin Cathy.”.  
“That’s right, Elizabeth. You’re very smart. Philip is Mary’s cousin because he’s Lina’s nephew. That means her sister had Philip, just like my sister Mary had Catherine, and she’s your cousin.” Anne explained, trying to keep things simple so Lizzie could understand. But at the same time, she didn’t want to baby the girl. Elizabeth was bright and would pick things up quickly if they talked normally in front of her.   
“And both of us are cousins to Eleanor and Frances, and Henry and Charles.” Mary added, leaning into her mother’s embrace and smiling indulgently at her younger sister.  
“That’s confusing, Mama.” Elizabeth said, wrinkling her eyebrows in such a way that Anne nearly laughed out loud. But she collected herself and arched one eyebrow in question.  
“How so, sweetheart? What do I need to explain?”  
“Well, how come Mary is my sister, and Philip is her cousin, but not mine? But Frances is my cousin AND Mary’s?”.   
Anne glanced at Catherine for an answer, but the elder queen gave her a look that clearly told her that this was her child and therefore her lesson to teach.  
“Well, sweetheart. You know that I’m your Mama, and Lina is Mary’s Mama but not your Mama?”  
“Yes,” Elizabeth said in a tone that told Anne she thought her mother was being silly for repeating something she knew so well. “That’s how come she wasn’t a princess like me.”  
Catalina placed a careful hand on Mary’s shoulders at the remark, feeling them stiffen.  
“Well, this is the same thing. You and Mary have the same Papa, but not the same Mama, so she has cousins you don’t, but you have cousins she doesn’t. Do you understand?”  
“I think so.”   
“Good. Now, let’s get you to bed, little queen. Say goodnight to Mary and Lina.”  
“G’night Mary! Night Lina.” came the sleepy reply. Anne picked up her daughter, staggering slightly at the weight. She’d forgotten how heavy Elizabeth was when she was tired.  
“Thank you for coming to play with us, Mary.” she said, giving Mary a small smile in thanks, which was returned, although on Mary it looked more like a grimace. “Catherine, I’ll see you tomorrow?”  
“I’d like to speak with you after you put Elizabeth to bed, actually, Anne.” Catherine said, giving Elizabeth a smile and wave. “Nothing bad, just wanting to check in and talk about how we’re going to do things like school and clothes. We’ve never had kids that we’re entirely responsible for before.”  
“That sounds like it’d be a good idea.” Anne smiled. “I’ll come to your room once the gremlin is asleep, we can go downstairs or something.”  
“Perfect.”  
And so the first wife of Henry VIII and the first crowned queen of England left behind the second of both to have their first ever real bedtime together. 

Anne didn’t really know how to put Elizabeth to bed. Even when she’d asked to put her daughter to sleep, back when they’d been queen and princess, Lady Bryan had usually hung around, or other ladies were always hovering in the background. Baby Elizabeth had needed a wet nurse to be around, and once she’d been weaned, Anne didn’t think the ladies trusted her to know how to properly put her daughter to sleep.  
But she didn’t think that she needed to find a definite routine right away. At least, she hoped not. She could remember a few things about how her sister Mary had put her children to bed from back at Hever a long time ago, but Anne highly doubted bedtime routines in this century were the same as they’d been then. She could do this. She’d put Kitty to bed, that couldn’t be that different, right?

It was very different.  
Elizabeth had decided that she no longer wanted to go to bed, so she was currently bouncing on Anne’s bed (not that Anne blamed her, she’d picked that mattress specifically for its quality of bounce) while her mother frantically searched up bedtime routines for toddlers on her phone. She hadn’t even managed to get Lizzie out of her costumes and into pyjamas, so the dressing gown and Gucci belt were flailing around with their small owner as she hopped frantically.   
“Lizzie, baby, don’t you want to go to sleep? Maybe tomorrow Aunt Kitty and I can show you the park. You’ll like it, but you can’t go until tomorrow, so if you go to sleep, it’ll come faster.”  
“What’s a park?”  
“It’s a fun place for kids to play, sweetheart. You get to run around.”  
“Okay.” Elizabeth said, getting down off the bed and grabbing Anne’s sunglasses from the bedside table.   
“Okay, you’ll go to sleep?”  
“No, I wanna go to the park.”  
Anne sighed in frustration. “Honey, we can’t go to the park in the dark. Nothing is fun, it’s just dangerous. You could get hurt on the equipment because it’s hard to see.”  
“Oh. Can I jump again?”  
“No, sweetheart. Can you try getting into your pyjamas?”  
“You help?”. Anne smiled at how her daughter was reverting back to simpler sentences due to her exhaustion.  
“Yes, honey. I’ll help you if you go pick your favourite and bring them here. Kitty and Anna picked you three pretty nightgowns, and I think they’re all different colours, so you get to choose.”. She’d been glad when the other queens had picked nightgowns instead of pants for Lizzie, knowing that she’d worn nightgowns back in the 1500s. Anne had often been confused when waking up in the middle of the night when she’d worn pants and a top. She was fine now, but Lizzie had only been here a few weeks. She didn’t want her baby being scared.  
Elizabeth skipped back to her mother, a green nightgown clenched in her hand.  
“Here, Mama. Help, please!” she commanded, lifting her arms above her head. Anne chuckled and took the nightgown out of El’s fist, then undid the belt buckle and slipped off the costume. When she slipped the nightgown over her daughter’s head, Elizabeth giggled.  
“It’s so soft!”  
“It is. Would you like me to brush your hair?”  
“Yes please, Mama.”

Once Elizabeth had brushed her teeth and was ready for bed, Anne helped her climb into her own bed and climbed in beside her, pulling the covers up so they went to Elizabeth’s armpits. She turned to face her daughter, brushing a curl of red-gold hair out of her flushed face.  
“Should I read you a story, ma cherie? And then you can go to sleep? And tomorrow we can go to the park, and maybe you can play some more with Mary?”  
“You promise?” Elizabeth asked, looking up at her mother with big dark eyes.  
“Well, you’d have to ask Mary, but I’m sure she’d love to-”  
“No. Promise you’ll be here?”

Anne’s heart broke into a million pieces at the question coming from her two-year old’s mouth. She pulled Elizabeth into her, hugging the girl tightly.   
“Baby girl, I swear to you I will be here when you wake up in the morning. We’re even sleeping in the same room, so I won’t be down the hall, which could be scary. I’m going to go talk to Mary’s mum for a little while once you’ve gone to sleep, but I won’t leave the house. If you wake up and you’re scared, you come find me, okay?”  
“You promised last time too. You said you’d always be here and then you went away and I was scared.” Elizabeth said matter-of-factly, breaking Anne’s heart even further.  
She could remember that day so clearly. She’d been terrified that Henry would remove her from her daughter’s life, divorcing her and sending her to a nunnery without Elizabeth. She’d assumed that El would remain a princess, because Henry wouldn’t want to lose the one heir he had, and that would mean the child would not be permitted to live with her disgraced mother. Anne had taken Elizabeth with her and chased Henry around the gardens, begging him for one final chance, one more try for a son.   
Elizabeth had been terrified, Anne knew that. Her daughter was heavy to run with, especially in the bulky skirts she wore back in those days, and she had clung onto her mother with every last inch of her being. Anne had felt terrible, bringing her toddler into the mess that was her parents’ relationship, but she hadn’t known what else to do. Henry may not have loved Anne anymore, but he still had a soft spot for Elizabeth.  
He’d said no, obviously, and Anne had stayed in the same position for nearly half an hour, clutching her daughter to her as tightly as she could, breathing her in, touching her soft hair, whispering reassuring words to get Lizzie to stop shaking in fear. Henry was a terrifying man when angry, and while Anne was used to it, her daughter had not been.   
She’d then taken Elizabeth back to her nursery and helped her get ready for her nap, as much as she could. She’d stayed with her child until she fell asleep, singing an old lullaby her nurse, Mrs Orchard, had sung to her as a young girl. And then, not a month later, she was taken, arrested, tried, and killed. Elizabeth was branded a bastard, a label that would be a problem for her her entire life.  
For Anne, this felt as though it was years ago, although she could still remember sharply the pain she’d felt. But Elizabeth felt as though it had only been that month since the incident occurred. It made sense that she’d be worried, even if it hurt Anne to think that she could have caused her precious child such pain.   
Brushing a red gold curl away from her daughter’s scrunched up face, Anne took hold of her face gently and turned it to look directly into her eyes.  
“Baby girl, that was something that I wish never happened, and I’ll explain it better to you when you’re a bit older, but you don’t need to worry anymore. No one wants to take you away from me, and I will do anything for you. I can do so much more now, I’m free, and that means that I can protect you with everything I have in me. I won’t leave you, baby. I love you too much for that.”  
“Never?”  
“Well, one day, I will have to, but not for a very long time, if I have anything to say about it. I’m here, Lizzie. And it’s just us now, and the other girls, but no Lady Bryan, no ladies in waiting.”  
“I get to live with you all the time?” Elizabeth asked, her eyes round with wonder at the foreign thought.  
“All the time.” Anne confirmed, pressing a kiss to the toddler’s forehead and pulling up a children’s book on her phone. “Now, what do you say we read a book? You like stories.”  
“That sounds good, Mama.” came the reply, as Elizabeth burrowed deep into her mother’s side. “Mama?”  
“Yes, Lizzie?”  
“Are there fishies at the park?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you, lovely people! lots of love.


	9. Conversations, Conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anne and Aragon have a chat about their kids coming back and the whole Anne/Mary situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, I did promise that I'd get another one out this weekend! and it's 9:06pm here in ontario, so I guess I achieved my goal. this one is a bit of a filler, but we do get some important anne/aragon dialogue. 
> 
> I love you all so much, and I love your response to this story, keep it coming!

As soon as Elizabeth had fallen asleep, Anne moved her arm carefully out from under her head, freezing slightly when El hummed to herself. It seemed to just be something she was doing in her sleep, though, so Anne stepped out of the bed, slipped on her fluffy pink slippers Kitty had bought her last Christmas, and tiptoed out of her room. She turned back for one moment for one more look at her sleeping daughter, feeling her heart swell at the sight. God, she’d missed the cheeky little monkey. Elizabeth rolled over in her sleep, a tiny fist furiously twirling a handful of red curls around her finger, and a little thumb stuck solidly in her mouth. Anne knew she’d have to work on the thumb-sucking to make sure it didn’t mess with El’s teeth later, but for now, it was something cute that was probably a security thing.  
She padded quietly down the stairs to the second floor, Elizabeth’s bedtime was obviously not the same as the other queens’, but perhaps Edward would be asleep too. Looking down the hall at Jane’s door, she could see a warm light emanating from it, so she took care to be extra quiet, knowing babies were a pain to get to sleep sometimes. Anna, Kitty and Cathy were still downstairs, as their doors were wide open, and she was pretty sure she could hear The Crown coming from the living room, Jane’s favourite show, and everyone else’s guilty pleasure. Satisfied with her rounds, Anne turned to Catalina’s door, which had Aragon painted on it in gold, swirling calligraphy, from the time that Kitty had been into lettering. She could hear quiet voices coming from inside, and so she strode over to stand right in front, knocking three times.  
Mary opened the door, her face dropping slightly when she saw who it was, but she turned to her mother, opening the door wider and allowing Anne to come in.  
“She’s here, Mama.”.  
“Hi, Lina. Elizabeth’s asleep. Could we have that chat now?” Anne asked, fully aware that she sounded vulnerable. Mary was giving her a barely-concealed look of disgust, but Aragon stood up with a warm smile on her face.  
“Of course, Anne. Mary, mi amor, will you be okay to stay in here for a while by yourself? You can play on my phone, or read one of my books, if you want.”  
“I think I’m just going to go to sleep, Mama. I’m rather tired.” Mary replied, moving to give her mother a tight hug and turning away from Anne. Catalina shrugged.  
“Okay, mija. Grab some pyjamas from the third drawer on the left, and make sure you brush your teeth. Cathy bought you a toothbrush, and she said she put a label on it with your name. Brush your hair before you go to bed, and you can put any scent you want in the purifier. Oh-you don’t know how to use the purifier, do you? I bet you don’t even know what it is. I can-”  
“Mama!” Mary said, cutting her off. “I’ll be perfectly alright. I’m just going to sleep, in your room, might I add, so you know it’s safe. You’re going to be just downstairs. Jane’s up here, so I can get her right away if I need anything. You’re not even leaving the premises. I’m not going to disappear.”.  
Catalina nodded.   
“Yes, I know. I know that. You’re right, carino. You’ll be right upstairs. You won’t sneak out the window.”  
“Right. I wouldn’t even know where to go. It’s okay, Mama.”  
Anne felt very much like she was intruding on something very private, but Aragon gave Mary a kiss on the cheek and turned to her friend.  
“Right, let’s go downstairs, Anne. Would the living room work?” she asked, and Anne knew that it would be best to just let the woman’s anxieties be and not bring it up.  
“That sounds good. Goodnight, Mary.” Anne replied, giving the teenager a small smile, which was not returned.  
“Anne.” Mary said, tilting her head down slightly, much like Anne herself had done when queen, back when she’d wanted people to leave her alone.  
Anne got the message loud and clear, and, taking Catalina’s hand, led her out of the room and down the stairs, pulling her into the living room that wasn’t being occupied by the latter three queens. Catalina sat down and pulled a blanket out of their pile, arranging it over herself, then grabbing a pillow and placing it beside her as well. She gave Anne a grin.  
“This is definitely not the conversation I thought I’d be having with you tonight when I got up this morning.” she said, laughing slightly. Anne grinned back, feeling as though her cheeks were going to split open.  
“Definitely not. I was actually going to force you to watch Glee with me tonight.”  
“Well, I guess I lucked out on that one.” Aragon replied, smirking at Anne’s look of indignation.  
“Rude!”  
They fell silent. After several slow, agonizing seconds, Aragon looked up at Anne.  
“It’s pretty amazing, though, huh?”  
“I never even dreamed that it was possible.” Anne said. “So, yeah.”  
“Elizabeth’s beautiful, Anne. I never saw her the first time. She looks just like you.” Catalina said, smiling at the proud blush that spread over Anne’s cheeks at the compliment to her daughter.  
“Well, not now. But she definitely did, the first time. Henry too. Which, truthfully, isn’t the worst thing in the world.”  
“We lucked out on the years to marry him, based on his appearance.” Catalina said, grimacing slightly. “Handsomest prince in Christendom, and all that.”  
“Yeah, I just hope El doesn’t decline like he did. I don’t think she did the first time, though. My baby girl’s gorgeous. And so smart? Like, I’d kinda forgotten how rare it is to hear little kids speak like that, since back then, I didn’t really know any others and they all spoke like little adults anyways. But El’s really intelligent.”  
“She is.” Catherine agreed, feeling pride in the girl’s accomplishments even though she had nothing to do with them. “It’s no surprise. Look at you, Anne.”  
“Thank you.” Anne said, pausing slightly and looking at Catherine with a sheepish face. “Oh, shoot. I’m bragging a lot, aren’t I? She’s got faults, too. I mean, loads. She wouldn’t go to bed, she wanted to just jump on the bed-not that that was all on her, I messed up in 1536-”  
“Anne-”  
“And sometimes, she’s got a massive temper. Like, Mount Vesuvius, massive. It’s the Tudor temper, but I’m not pretending it isn’t Boleyn too. The temper tantrums I used to have were legendary as a child, and even at court, I mean it killed me, so I’m sure you know-”  
“Anne!” Aragon exclaimed, placing a hand on Anne’s knee. “Sweetheart, it’s so natural to brag about your kid. And you haven’t seen her in years, you’ve got loads of time to make up for. Don’t stress, I used to brag about Mary all the time.”  
“Really?” Anne asked, a note of worry in her voice. “I used to talk about Lizzie constantly, but I just got told off, no one wanted to hear about the daughter they didn’t want, they wanted to hear my answer for the lack of a son.”  
“Believe me. You’re a great mum, Anne.”  
“Sure,” Anne said, scoffing slightly. “I couldn’t get her to go to sleep because she was worried I was going to abandon her in the middle of the night. Great mum right there.”  
“And did you get her to sleep?”  
“Well, yeah, but she was so worried!”  
“Because she loves you, Anne. And nothing is going to happen, not this time.”  
“How do you know that? I could be walking home from getting groceries and be hit by a car!”  
“Anne, you’re creating something out of nothing. And, even if something were to happen to you, Elizabeth has got five women who will love her more than anything and protect her with their whole being.”  
“And Mary.” Anne said, scrunching her nose slightly.  
“Yes, and Mary.” Catherine agreed. “Anne, I know that she really doesn’t like you-”  
“She hates me.”  
“Yes, well, I think she’ll grow to realize that that really isn’t fair. I’m working on it, love. But right now, Mary needs to settle in. You remember how jarring it was when we first got here. And we really didn’t like each other, but look at us now!”  
“I hated you.” Anne said, laughing slightly. “But I hated Jane more.”  
“And now, Jane’s upstairs with her baby, but just this morning, she bought you a coffee without you having to ask because she knows your order by heart. I’m sure you and Mary will get there.” Catherine said, shrugging. Anne smiled slightly.  
“We were doing okay while we were playing with Elizabeth. You know I never hated her, Lina. I just had to secure Lizzie’s position, and Henry wanted to force her to submit but I really don’t think he knew how to do something kindly.”  
“I know, Anne. And I think that spending time with Mary if you have Lizzie as a buffer is probably a really good idea. She’s very protective of her little sister, she doesn’t want their relationship to fall apart like it did the first time, and if she can see that you don’t want to corrupt Elizabeth’s thoughts and feelings towards her, I think that it’ll be easier to get her to think of you positively.”  
“Elizabeth wants to go to the park tomorrow, and I promised her I’d ask you if Mary could join us. Do you think she’d like that?” Anne asked, an anxious look on her face. Catherine smiled.  
“I do think she would love it very much. We could make a whole family outing of it, you know how Anna and Kitty love the park.”  
“That would be really nice. I’m a bit worried about how the others are going to feel about Lizzie, Mary and Edward coming back, especially since the little ones don’t remember them. I really don’t want them to feel like they’ve been put out, because I know that they love them too. Doing a whole family thing would be a good way to show them we want them to be involved heavily.” Anne said, looking at Catherine. “Don’t you think?”  
“I think that’s true,” Aragon agreed. “They were very quiet at dinner, which is unusual. We’ll have a talk later, but right now, do you want to just talk about our kids?”  
“God, yes!” Anne exclaimed, turning to face her friend. “So, first of all, I have absolutely no idea where Elizabeth got the idea from, but she was speaking just like Henry used to when he received foreign ambassadors, and I don’t know when she’d have ever watched him receive one, right?”  
“I’m not sure when she would have, no.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next up: a family trip to the park. should be interesting.


	10. another reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elizabeth and Jane meet properly for the first time in the twenty-first century, and Elizabeth is not free from normal toddler antics. Anne also meets Edward for the first proper time ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, this is my christmas gift to all of you, and if you don't celebrate or celebrate something else, happy holidays, or I hope you had a good day.  
> I know I said they'd go to the park this chapter, but that'll probably be next time. anne and elizabeth ran wild in my head, and I needed to get them down.  
> it's been a while because I had a concussion (hockey, gotta love it), but hopefully I'll be posting pretty regularly again.  
> love you all! please enjoy:)

The next morning, Jane woke up at four am to the sound of her child whimpering. At first, she wasn’t sure what the noise was, but then the memories of the previous day came rushing back, and she felt a flush of happiness descend over her. A large smile came over her face, even though she hadn’t woken up before six thirty since the time Anne had had the flu and been absolutely pathetic. Turning over in her bed to face the crib that Anna, Cathy and Kitty had bought the day before, she could see Edward’s tiny face glaring at her. She laughed at the grumpy expression on his face and sat up, stretched and walked over to him. Picking him up out of the crib, she lifted him high above her head and made a face at him.  
“Poor baby, are you hungry?” she cooed, grinning when he gurgled back at her. “Okay, Edward, let’s go downstairs, shall we? Your aunts have bought you some formula and bottles and I’ll puzzle out the instructions to get you a nice warm bottle. I’ve gotten better at figuring those things out since we got here, you know.”  
She paused to look at Edward, who was studying his mother with intelligent blue eyes, seeming to take in every word she said.  
“I’d imagine that your big sister Elizabeth will be up before too long, anyways, honey. If we go downstairs, you won’t be stuck with just me for a long while. She’ll want to play with you.”  
Readjusting Edward’s weight in her arms, she left her room and headed downstairs. Cathy had thought ahead and left a bottle and the formula container on the counter, and Jane sang softly to Edward as she warmed up the water, then swayed with him while she made the bottle and tested it on her forearm. Satisfied with the heat, she took him into the living room and arranged them on the couch, turning on the television and letting out a long sigh.  
This had definitely not been how she thought her life with Edward would turn out when she’d first given birth to him. She would have never gotten to spend as much time with him as she was sure to if she’d been queen, having to instead send him off to a residence such as Eltham, or even to Hatfield with Elizabeth (although she was sure Henry would have moved the child if Edward was to be sent to Hatfield, she couldn’t be permitted to live with the infant Prince, not the way her status hung in the air), giving him to a governess, probably Lady Bryan, and seeing him only occasionally. When she had known she was to die, she’d just assumed she’d be watching over Edward from heaven or wherever, but that she would never get to know him.  
She’d have the chance to know him now, just the same as she’d get to know Elizabeth, and even Mary, better than she had before. Edward and Elizabeth would definitely be very different children, now that they were going to be raised by their mothers in the twenty-first century, but they would still be them. Edward was still the baby she’d known for such a short time, and she was beyond grateful that she’d get to know him, get to raise him, get all the chances back she’d lost nearly 600 years ago. Whoever had done this deserved everything in the world, because they’d just given it back to her.  
Edward let out a soft mewl, done with his milk, and Jane wiped his chin and burped him, marvelling at him the whole time. Once she was finished, he settled into her chest and began to fall asleep, his tiny chest rising and falling in time with her own.   
A tiny tear rolled down Jane’s cheek. This wasn’t the way she once thought she’d have everything she ever wanted, but now that she had it, she couldn’t think of any other way she’d rather have it.

Elizabeth woke Anne up much too early for her liking.  
“Mama! Mama!”  
Anne opened one eye very slowly, finding the toddler perched directly over her face, staring right at her.  
“Um...good morning, sweetheart.” she said, groaning internally as she opened the other eye and sat up, pulling Lizzie into a tight hug. It hadn’t been a dream.  
“Can we go to the park now?” Elizabeth asked, bouncing up and down in Anne’s lap. Anne shot a look over her shoulder at the clock, which read 5:19am.   
“Baby, it’s only five in the morning.”. El pouted and turned her head in a question.  
“No?”  
“Everyone else isn’t going to be up for a long while, Lizzie. And you want to go to the park with Mary, don’t you?”  
“Yes.”  
“Then I guess we’ll have to wait until everyone else wakes up.”. Elizabeth let out a groan and slumped against her mother’s chest.  
“How long?”  
“Probably a while, hon.” Anne replied, giggling slightly at the grumpy look on her toddler’s face. She looked just like Henry when he didn’t get his way, back when they were still courting. When they’d been married, it had just been stone cold anger on his face, but back in their best days (that was sad, since those days had been filled with worry and hatred from everyone around them) he had been cute when grumpy. She was glad Lizzie didn’t have his incredibly angry face, but the cute little grumpy one was okay. “Everyone else doesn’t usually wake up until like 10:00 when we’re free.”  
“How much is that?” Elizabeth asked, crossing her arms over her tiny chest.  
“Five hours. What should we do while we wait, baby?”  
“Five hours is a long time?”  
“Not super long, but yes, it feels long.” Anne responded, not wanting to give false hope. Elizabeth wriggled out of her mother’s grip and smiled at her. Anne groaned. She knew that look. It had always appeared on George’s face right before he’d suggested something they weren’t supposed to do, and her family had told her she got an identical one for the same reason.  
“More queen.” Elizabeth said, phrasing it so that it was not a question.  
“You want to play queen?” Anne asked, getting a nod in response. “Okay, you’re lucky that we live upstairs where no one can hear us play. Do you want to get costumes?”  
“I want to go downstairs, Mama.”. Anne paused, thinking. No one slept downstairs, so they’d be good with noise, especially if they went into the living room and closed the door. If they went downstairs, she could show Lizzie around the house a little bit more, because she knew her daughter, like her, liked to know where she was. It had been something they’d done before, when Elizabeth came to visit at court. Sometimes they’d been at a castle she didn’t remember, and Anne had taken her little daughter in her arms or by the hand and led her around, explaining how things worked.  
“Okay, baby. We can go downstairs.”. Elizabeth grinned and climbed off the bed, Anne following her and opening the door so she could get through.  
When they got down, Elizabeth let out a squeal and dashed through the door into the living room. Anne shook her head and followed her, unsure what was making her daughter react in that way.  
Her question was quickly answered. Jane was sitting with a sleeping Edward, looking to be half asleep herself, but she stirred a bit and sat fully up when she saw Elizabeth come in.  
“Quiet, sweetheart.” she whispered. “Edward’s sleeping.”  
Elizabeth immediately frowned, crossing her arms over her chest once again. Anne groaned, knowing this was sure to put her daughter right back in a bad mood.  
“Why is he always sleeping?” Elizabeth whined, flopping onto the ground in a very dramatic fashion. Jane smirked at Anne, and the brunette knew she was laughing at how very much like her mother Lizzie was. In fact, she could faintly remember having similar fits about how George was boring, although she would have never voiced them in front of her parents, choosing instead to air her grievances to her nurse, Mrs. Orchard, and some of the other servants in charge of the nursery.  
“He’s much smaller than you, baby.” Anne explained. “He gets sleepy and that means he has to sleep more than you because his body is so tiny.”. Elizabeth stuck out her bottom lip while she pondered this.  
“Okay.” she agreed, then looked at Anne and whispered (in what she thought was a quiet tone).  
“Who’s this lady?”   
Anne realized that she hadn’t actually introduced Jane to Elizabeth yet. The toddler hadn’t had a high opinion of the woman the last time her mother saw her, so it was with an inward grimace that she replied.  
“This is Jane, honey. She’s Edward’s Mama.”  
“Jane who?” was the response. Elizabeth came from a world where last names and titles were very important, Anne realized, but she was unsure what to say. Could El remember the last name of the woman she had so often heard her ladies whispering about? She knew who Edward was, so would she remember Jane as the stepmother she’d been, or the husband-stealer Anne had seen her as?  
Jane answered that for her.  
“My last name is Seymour, Elizabeth.”  
“Oh.”  
Anne could spot a tiny little scowl that came over her daughter’s face at that, but Elizabeth moved on quickly, and so she hoped that would be that.  
“But Edward’s my brother. His last name is Tudor, like Mary and me, right, Mama?”  
“Mary and I, sweetheart.” Anne corrected gently, then answered the question. “Well, yes, Edward’s last name is Tudor. But your papa married three different women to get his children, and so we all have different last names. Just like how my last name is Boleyn, but your name is Elizabeth Tudor. Does that make sense?”  
“I suppose.” Elizabeth said, climbing up off the floor and moving over to stand next to Jane. “Will he wake up soon, Mama?”  
“Why don’t you ask Aunt Jane, Lizzie? We just got here.” Anne instructed, noting once again the tiny scowl. She doubted Jane noticed it. She didn’t know Elizabeth like Anne had, and this was not a Henry scowl. Anne had seen it on her father’s face when he didn’t get his way, on her sister’s when she was told no but was not allowed to contest it by virtue of her sex. That was a Boleyn scowl, and she’d have to deal with it later.  
“Yes, Mama.” Elizabeth said reluctantly, turning to face Jane. “Aunt Jane, when will my brother wake up so he can play with me?”  
Jane smiled indulgently at the toddler.  
“I imagine he’ll wake up fairly soon, Elizabeth. He’s been sleeping for a while, and he already slept through most of the night.” she explained, and Elizabeth brightened.  
“Okay!” she exclaimed. “Mama, play with me until Edward wakes up.”  
The tone was very commanding, just like Elizabeth had always been instructed to be, but Anne knew that her two-year-old would need to learn very quickly that she was not a princess here.   
“Ask nicely, Lizzie.” she said, fixing a stern look on her child.  
Elizabeth knew exactly how her mother would be happiest with her response, and so she sent a pretty smile at Anne and spoke her question in lilting, flowery French, the accent taken straight from her mother, she who was more French than English.  
“Joue avec moi, Maman? S’il vous plaît?". Anne’s heart melted immediately at hearing her favourite language, as it always did, and she smiled at her daughter, who beamed back with the smile of someone who knows exactly what she’s done and is very proud of herself for doing so.  
“Oui, ma chérie." she answered, noting Jane’s beaming smile from the corner of her eye. “Shall we play queen again?”  
“Yes, I think so. We have to be quiet though, for my baby brother.” Elizabeth said sternly, and Anne bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing at the look on her face.  
“Of course, honey.”  
They played queen for about twenty minutes, Anne once again taking the role of the French ambassador. She enjoyed playing the part, she’d always loved dressing up and acting in masques and plays. Plus, if she was playing a foreign ambassador, she could work on El’s French with her. She wanted her daughter to get an amazing education this time around, just as she had before, and being bilingual would help. Perhaps she could get Catalina to teach her Spanish too. Elizabeth would be especially enthusiastic about Spanish if Mary demonstrated her ability with the language as well. The toddler seemed to idolize her older sister, just as Anne had idolized her Mary when she was very small.   
Edward finally woke up right in the middle of a conversation about the princess of England’s and the dauphin of France’s engagement they were pretending to negotiate, and Elizabeth immediately abandoned the game to go stare adoringly at Edward.  
It was slightly bittersweet for Anne to see her daughter interacting with a brother. She’d had so many fantasies of Elizabeth and a tiny little boy with Henry’s face and her dark hair, playing in the gardens of Hatfield, of a tiny Elizabeth gently holding an even tinier baby while she and Henry looked on adoringly. Now Elizabeth finally had that, but Anne hadn’t actually given it to her. Perhaps this would be better. Edward would never be brought up to think that he was superior to Elizabeth because he was both a boy and legitimate, and Elizabeth wouldn’t be submissive to him for those same reasons. Anne was slightly worried that she thought that right now, believing that this was the boy she’d been told to pray for since she could remember, the one that a very small Elizabeth had asked her mother, in a small voice, if having a baby brother meant that her Papa wouldn’t love her anymore.  
Edward had definitely been that for Henry five hundred years ago. Anne knew that he probably hadn’t spared even a thought for the sons he might have had with her or even with Catalina once Jane gave him the pale blonde boy who was a miniature her. But this wasn’t five hundred years ago. Poor Edward would never know his father, and Anne doubted Lizzie would remember more than a loud, exuberant voice and maybe a pair of strong arms that swung her around. Henry had always been a good father when their daughter was there, so Anne felt for her. She’d lost a mother at a very young age, and now she’d lose a father. But Elizabeth, Edward, and even Mary would gain five other parental figures, and they’d get to grow up with the mothers, who, Anne was sure, would make sure their childhood (and late teens in Mary’s case) was much happier than it had been before.  
She was interrupted from her thoughts by Elizabeth running over to her and grabbing her hand, tugging her over to see Edward.  
“Come, Mama! Come meet my Edward!” she said excitedly, slowing down once she got near the baby and resuming her careful watching. Anne hesitated, but she slowly went over to the child and knelt down beside her daughter, wrapping an arm around her tiny waist to make sure El didn’t make any sudden movements and scare Edward.  
He was a pretty baby, and she could see faint hints of Henry in him, but what endeared him to Anne was how he looked like Jane. It was strange, how the son another woman had given her husband looking very much like the woman comforted her, but she didn’t want the reminder that Henry had had a son with another woman. She’d promised that to him, so many times.   
Jane looked up and met Anne’s anxious eyes with her calm, reassuring ones, giving her a small smile. That gave Anne the courage she needed to move in a little closer to her daughter’s brother, and, holding out a finger to the tiny hand, she turned to Jane.  
“May I?”. She could remember how possessive she’d been of Elizabeth when she was a baby, especially when they got their precious time together, which had been much too little.  
Jane nodded, a happy look on her face.  
“Of course, love.”. She held Edward out to Anne, who took him gently into her arms. He moved with little complaint, only a tiny mewl at leaving the comforting and familiar smell of his mother, but he settled into the new body as though he’d spent years with her. Anne touched his tiny nose with a shaking finger, marvelling at the soft new baby skin and smell.  
“He’s beautiful, Jane.” she choked, feeling tears welling up in her eyes. Elizabeth plopped down on the floor next to Anne, sticking out a small finger for her brother to grab with his fist, which he happily did.  
“Thank you.” Jane said, beaming with pride. Elizabeth smiled as well.  
“He loves to grab on my hair, Mama. Mary says it’s probably because it’s so red and it fass-nates him.”  
“Fascinates, baby.” Anne corrected.  
“Fascinates.”  
“Good girl.”  
“Anyways, we like to play, but Mary says Eddie’s too small to play any proper games yet, which I didn’t think was very fair, but she promised he’d be able to play some games in a year. Is that a long time, Mama?”  
Anne bit her lip.  
“Um...no, not super long, baby. But it’ll feel long, and it’s a long time for you, since you’ve only lived two years.”  
“That’s how long?” Elizabeth exclaimed. She flopped to her back on the floor. “That’s too long, Mama!”  
“I’m sorry, Lizzie.” Anne said, choking back a laugh. “But you’re lucky. You get to have lots of aunts and Mama and Mary to play with you until Edward gets bigger.”  
That seemed to stop the tantrum in its tracks. Elizabeth sat up and got her mischief smirk right back on. Jane laughed, recognizing it immediately.  
“And they’ll do anything I want?”  
“Well, no,” Anne said, backpedaling frantically. “Not anything. Everyone has boundaries and lives.”  
“But if I asked nicely?” Elizabeth said, frowning in confusion at the notion that people wouldn’t just drop anything to do whatever she wanted. That was how she’d always been allowed to do things.  
“Still not always.” Anne replied. The grumpy look came back in full force, and Jane looked right at Anne. She recognised that one too.  
“Fine.” Elizabeth said. “Mama?”  
“Yes, honey?”  
“I need to go to the next room without you for a bit.”  
“Um, no.” Anne said, shaking her head. “You can’t go places by yourself yet. You don’t know the house.”  
“Ugh!” Elizabeth complained, throwing herself back onto the floor. “Aunt Jane, will you let me go to the next room by myself?”  
Jane’s eyes sparkled with mirth.  
“Sorry, Elizabeth. Not if your Mama said no.”  
“Mama?”  
“Yes?”  
“How much longer until Mary wakes up?”  
Anne looked at her watch and groaned.  
“It’s only six thirty, Lizzie. Probably at least three hours.”  
Elizabeth moaned dramatically and flopped over to her stomach.  
“That’s so long!”  
“Believe me, honey, I know.” Anne said, shaking her head. “I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there, that's chapter ten! I hope you liked it:)  
> leave a review or kudos below, that'd be the best gift you could give me.


	12. in which elizabeth goes through sixteen emotions in the span of ten minutes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> anne and lina discuss anne's worries about elizabeth's attitude towards jane. elizabeth wraps even more people around her little finger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so they still aren't at the park. I know, I suck. but I wanted to get you guys a chapter out before new years day was over, and as it's only nine pm in canada, I succeeded.
> 
> this chapter is mostly just elizabeth being elizabeth, but there is some serious stuff wrapped up in a big cotton candy cloud.  
> happy 2021, y'all!   
> this chapter is dedicated to anyone who has lost their lives due to the pandemic and those frontline workers of all types ensuring our world continues to run as smoothly as possible.

Mary awoke the same morning with a smile on her face. She felt comfortable and happy for the first time...the first time since she’d been around eleven. A movement from beside her caused her to look next to her, and there she was. Her mother.   
Catherine of Aragon looked different in this body than she had the last time Mary had seen her, in many ways. Her personal favourite? The fact that this Mama wasn’t as beaten. Her mother had always been strong, but life had taken many tolls on her by the time Mary came around, and her outward appearance definitely showed that. She’d always thought her mother was beautiful, but she no longer looked as sad, or like the weight of a thousand different worlds was on her shoulders.  
As Catherine woke up, Mary grinned, and then whispered her morning greeting.  
“Hello, Mama.” she said, relishing the words that she hadn’t said in so long, and had never said before in this context. “Good morning.”

Catalina woke up to the sounds of her daughter’s sweet voice, and opened her eyes to see Mary smiling down at her. Instantly, an intense feeling of relief swept over her, and she felt relaxed once again. Mary was here. Mary was here, and right beside her, and she wasn’t leaving. She smiled softly, and replied “Good morning, mi cielo. What time is it?”  
Mary frowned, unsure of how to check that.   
“What do you mean, Mama?”  
“Look at the clock on the bedside table, sweetheart. It’s a digital one, so just read the numbers.”  
She nodded, turning her head to read.   
“Um...it’s 9:50, I think. May we go downstairs now?”  
Catalina nodded.  
“I’m sure your sister will be up by now, and Anne will probably be grateful for someone to distract her.”  
Mary bit back the scathing remark about how Anne should be grateful to spend time with her daughter, and merely smiled.  
“I’d be glad to see her. And yes, I’m sure she’s up, as she’s been waking up before the sun these past weeks.”

They didn’t worry too much about being quiet when they went through the hallway, as Aragon promised her daughter that everyone would be up very soon anyways. When Mary turned the corner and heard Elizabeth’s laughter, she felt relieved. Elizabeth was something comforting and familiar in this strange new environment, even though she was different from the most recent version of herself Mary could remember.  
The toddler was on the floor on her stomach, making faces at Edward while he giggled, Jane, Anne and the girl who had introduced herself as Kitty, although Mary knew she was Katherine Howard, looking on. Katherine didn’t look much older than Mary herself, but she supposed she hadn’t been very old when Mary’s father had wedded, bedded, and beheaded her.   
Elizabeth noticed Mary immediately and squealed in delight, running over as fast as her tiny legs would take her.  
“Mary! You’re awake! Mama said you’d be up soon so you could play with me, and Edward wants to play too. Will you play with us?” she said in one breath, gasping slightly at the end of her question, and looking up with Mary with big eyes (that whore’s, but Elizabeth’s pouting face looked enough like Henry for Mary to still be swayed by it). Mary smiled, taking her sister’s hand and leading her back over to Edward.  
“Of course, El. What shall we play?”

Catalina came in behind her daughter and sat down on the couch next to Anne, who was staring at Elizabeth with adoration written plainly all over her face, although she looked up when Aragon sat down and smiled.  
“Good morning, Lina.”  
“What time did she wake up?” Aragon asked, laughing slightly as Elizabeth ordered Mary around and her daughter willingly did what she was told.  
“Five twenty.” Anne groaned, leaning back into the cushions. “We’ve been down here since around then, but Eddie woke Jane up at like four. Young kids, man. They tire you out. At least Edward fell back asleep. She’s been playing non-stop play since she woke up.”  
Aragon winced in pity. She was slightly glad she’d never really had to sacrifice sleep for Mary, but she was also equally upset she’d never had the chance to do so many things that mothers did. Was she grateful like nothing else that Mary had come back to her? Of course. But would she sell her left foot for the chance to raise her from Elizabeth’s age like a mother of this time? 100%.  
“Yikes.” was what she said instead, and Anne nodded.   
“She’ll be glad Mary’s down to play, though. I had to talk her out of waking her up when she first woke, and she’s been asking how much longer until Mary comes for about three hours.”  
“Mary probably would not be receptive to being woken up that early.” Catherine laughed, nodding. They were interrupted by a shriek from Elizabeth.  
It seemed that Edward had tried to eat a piece of Elizabeth’s hair, and the toddler was not happy with him.  
“Edward!” she scolded. “No eating hair. It’s mean.”. The baby, obviously, did not reply, but Catalina thought he looked suitably chastised. Toddler Elizabeth was perhaps less intimidating at first glance than her older self, but she was no less strong-willed and imperious. She seemed a perfect mix of Henry and Anne, Aragon thought.  
Jane tried to scoop Edward up to get him to stop eating his sister’s hair, but Elizabeth hit her hand away.  
“NO! My baby brother, Jane Seymour.”  
Anne immediately stood up and picked Elizabeth up.   
“Elizabeth Tudor. We do not hit.”  
Elizabeth’s eyes welled with tears.  
“But Mama! She was trying to take Edward away from me.”  
Anne shook her head.  
“You know that’s not true, Elizabeth. Aunt Jane was trying to help you because your baby brother was trying to eat your hair, which you had just told him was mean. Besides, we still do not hit.”  
Elizabeth cried harder, shaking her head frantically.   
“No, Mama!”  
“I know that you’re upset sweetheart, although I’m not sure why, so I’m going to take you upstairs so we can calm down a little bit, okay?” Anne asked, stroking her daughter’s hair in an effort to stop her tears. Elizabeth shook her head.  
“No, Mama! I’ll stop!”   
“Are you sure?” Anne asked again. “You’re not too overwhelmed?”  
The crying subsided as Elizabeth calmed herself down.   
“I promise! Just let me play with Mary!”  
Anne nodded slowly.   
“Okay, because this is only the first time you’ve hit, I’m going to let you off with a warning. But you need to apologize to your Aunt Jane, or else the deal is off.”  
Elizabeth sniffled, wiping her tears off her face, and nodded. She reminded Aragon so much of Anne and Henry in that moment that her heart clenched. The toddler stood up and walked solemnly over to Jane, who was holding Edward in her lap and evidently trying not to smile. It was funny to see Anne be a parent. She was so often the opposite of that in their group.  
“I’m sorry for hitting you, Aunt Jane. It was not okay and I won’t do it again.” Elizabeth said, looking at her feet. Jane smiled down at her.  
“I accept your apology, Elizabeth.”  
Mary moved over to her younger sister, and Catherine almost told her to stay out of it, but she bit her tongue and let Mary go ahead. She knew much more about Elizabeth than her mother.  
“El, do you want to come over here and play with me? Edward needs to stay with his Mama for a little bit, I think he’s overwhelmed.”. Elizabeth barely even took a second to think this through before she nodded and grabbed Mary’s hand. Spending time with her cool older sister was much more exciting than hanging out with her baby brother and Jane.

Anne let out a sigh as Mary led Elizabeth out of earshot, turning to Catherine.  
“Was that okay? I don’t know how to discipline her.”  
Lina nodded.  
“I mean, I never really had to discipline Mary, but it looked good to me. It was the first offense, and you got her to apologize.”  
Anne nodded, but she still looked worried.  
“I’m worried that she’s upset with Jane. She knew about Jane before I died, and I confess that her opinion of Jane wasn’t very high. I didn’t do much to help it get better, either. Lizzie used to hear her ladies talking about Jane, and then she came to court in early April and I’m sure she saw Henry and Jane together, since he wasn’t exactly subtle about it.”  
Her predecessor paused for a moment, thinking. She wasn’t surprised. Children picked up on things. She’d definitely seen Mary as a toddler shoot a few nasty looks at Bessie Blount, and then Mary Boleyn, Anne’s own sister.   
“My teenager is guilty of hating you a lot more than that, so I’m not sure you should be asking me for advice.” she finally said. “But kids pick up on so much we don’t think they do. Lizzie’s smart, Anne. She knew what was going on, and I’m sure she’s worried about you. Think about it. The last time Jane was anywhere near you in a position she would have noticed, she heard whispers that something was wrong, and then you disappeared from court.”  
Anne nodded, looking pained.  
“That makes sense now that I think about it. She was at Greenwich when I got arrested, we were together, she saw so much more than Henry or I wanted her to. How do I get her to see that Jane means me no harm?”  
Aragon shrugged.  
“I’d just let her see you and Jane interact. Let her see Jane’s trustworthy, because I think right now she doesn’t even fully trust Jane with Edward.”  
“I can do that.” Anne agreed. A flash of sadness passed over her face, but it disappeared as quickly as it came. “Lizzie wants to go to the park today with everyone, so I can start to ease her into Jane then.”  
A squeal came from across the room, where Kitty had joined the game and was tickling Elizabeth. Mary looked on like she wanted to join in, but her body language seemed to disapprove, whether of the activity or of Kitty being a part of it, Anne wasn’t sure. Finally, she threw proprietary to the wind and grabbed Elizabeth to keep her from running, holding her down while Kitty tickled her. Elizabeth was squealing, but she was also beaming, crying with laughter.  
“Ma-ma!” she gasped between laughs. “Save me!”  
Anne grinned devilishly.  
“Sorry, princess! It looks like you’re stuck!”  
It was this moment that Anna chose to finally show her face, and Elizabeth’s face lit up at the new person to join in on her game. She tried to turn to face her former stepmother, but Mary had her firmly trapped, and so she settled for shouting.  
“Anna! Save me!”  
Anna laughed.  
“I don’t know. What will you give me?”  
“A hug!” Elizabeth cried, evidently thinking this was the top deal she could offer.  
Tilting her head, Anna pretended to think the offer over, all while Elizabeth continued to squeal. Edward wasn’t appreciating the noise, but he thankfully chose not to add to it, instead glaring with his cute little baby face at his older sister.  
“I suppose I can rescue the Princess since she asked so nicely.” she conceded. Anne shook her head.  
“Elizabeth, use your manners.” she chided.   
“PLEASE save me, Anna!”  
Anna walked over to the pile on the ground that was the two Tudor sisters, pretending to be attacked by soldiers on horseback all the while. Elizabeth laughed until she hiccuped at the woman’s antics.  
“Oh no! A dragon!” Anna exclaimed in mock horror as soon as she reached Kitty, who giggled and pretended to breathe fire. Holding up an imaginary shield, Anna grabbed a television remote from the table. “It’s a good thing I brought my dragon-slaying sword with me!”  
“Slay the dragon, Anna!” Elizabeth giggled, taking the role of damsel in distress on cheerfully and bouncing with excitement.  
With a loud cry, Anna pretended to stab Kitty, who gasped with appropriate terror, grasping the sword that was trapped under her arm, pretending to try and pull it out, and then promptly fell over and “died”. Mary dodged the sword’s blows and rolled out of the way, allowing Anna to grab the toddler and carry her away.  
Depositing Elizabeth on her mother’s lap, Anna gave a sweeping bow.  
“Pleasure to serve you, Your Highness.”  
“Thank you very much, Prince Anna.” Elizabeth said solemnly. “I am indebted to you.”. Her tiny mouth stumbled a little bit over the word Anne was sure she only was parroting back after hearing Henry use it, but Anna grinned and plopped down on the couch next to them, dislodging Catalina slightly.  
“What are we going to do today, Lizzie?” she asked. Kitty finally got up from her spot on the ground and came over, sitting on the floor in front of Jane.  
“Yeah, what do you want to do, El?”  
Elizabeth suddenly became shy, looking up at Anne for reassurance.   
“Tell them, sweetheart.” Anne said, nudging her daughter to look back at her aunts.  
“I want to go to the park with everyone.” she mumbled, throwing herself into Anne’s embrace as soon as the last word left her mouth. Anne stroked the toddler’s red hair softly, trying to get rid of whatever this shyness was.  
“That sounds like a wonderful idea, Elizabeth.” Anna said, smiling reassuringly.  
“I’d love to visit the park with you, El.” Kitty agreed. Catalina and Jane nodded.  
“You’ll have to ask Cathy if she’ll come, as she’s still sleeping, but I’m sure she’d want to come as well.” Jane said. Elizabeth nodded quickly in her direction, then turned to her older sister, who had come back to sit with her mother.  
“I don’t want to go if Mary’s not going.” she whined. “Please come, Mary!”  
The teen nodded.  
“Of course, Bess. We can go if that’s what you want.”  
“It is!” Elizabeth exclaimed, jumping up suddenly and landing half on Anne’s gut, causing her to let out an involuntary ‘oof’.  
“Then it’s settled.” Anne said. “We’ll go to the park after lunch.”  
Her daughter yelled in excitement, causing the baby to finally break his vow of silence and scream in return. Jane swore under her breath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guys, please, please, please review. it's so hard to write a story without knowing what you think, because I want to please you when I write. it only takes a minute and you'll make my whole day.  
> now, that's enough of me begging. go have an amazing day, and know that I love each and every single one of you.


	13. an afternoon at the park

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> elizabeth FINALLY gets to go to the park, but the afternoon is spoiled by a negative interaction for mary with a girl her age.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did y'all think I died?   
> I am SO SORRY, everyone. engish has been taking all my creative juices, and my PODCAST I started with my best friend. it's about women in history with nasty reputations, and we're doing a series on anne boleyn at the moment, with MARY TUDOR coming up next, followed by kitty howard, so you should all go listen to not-so bloody mary on spotify!  
> I really hope you all like this chapter, and it's a short one, but I figured giving you one now and one later this week would be better than making you wait even longer.  
> have a good rest of your day or evening or night! i love you all!

Elizabeth barely ate her lunch, choosing instead to bounce around asking incessant questions about the park. She wanted to know how far it was, what games she could play, if there would be any fountains, if Mary would promise to play with her the whole time, and if Edward was big enough to play in the fountain with her. When Anne calmly explained that no, the month-old baby could not go swimming with his two year old sister in a fountain, she got huffy, but that was quickly replaced by a smile when Anna started playing music and dancing. Anne had explained the instrumental situation to her, and though she was pretty sure the German queen was playing a medieval version of WAP, she let it slide. Elizabeth looked so happy and excited, twirling around with her aunt and mum in an imitation of the court dances she’d been taught and had seen her parents (mostly her mother) do. Even Mary stood up and twirled with her, the teen’s love of music winning over her Anne-hating side.  
By the time lunch was finally over, Cathy had graced them all with her presence and had agreed to go to the park. Anne took her daughter over to the entrance hallway and stuffed her into the tiny boots and raincoat that had been picked up for her yesterday. El was distracted by the ladybugs on her boots long enough for Anne to zip up her coat and grab an umbrella from the closet, and for everyone else to join them. Mary borrowed one of her mother’s raincoats and Edward was put into the stroller, bundled up in socks and warm clothing, and they placed the rain guard over top, although it took several tries to get the carrier into the stroller properly so he wouldn’t fall out and get hurt.  
By the time they were all ready to go, Elizabeth was about ready to burst, but they managed to get everyone out the door with little difficulty, although it was difficult to maneuver Edward out the door and off the porch. The toddler was bouncing up and down on her feet impatiently, and when Anne finally told her they were going, she took off like a shot. Kitty ran after her, giggling, Anna following, and Mary brought up the rear, not wanting to be left out.   
Elizabeth was already launching herself down the slide when Anne, Catalina, Cathy, Jane and Edward arrived at the park, laughing hysterically as she repeatedly climbed up the tiny ladder next to the bright orange slide. Mary was standing to the side, a curious look on her face, her feet moving around slowly in the sand as if to feel the texture. Kitty and Anna were sitting right beside her, building a sandcastle and talking under their breath.   
Lizzie lit up even more as soon as she saw her mother, and she threw herself down the slide, running on her tiny feet over to Anne and throwing herself into her mum’s legs. Anne let out a small grunt at the contact, but bent down to look in Elizabeth’s eyes.  
“Hey baby.” she said, smiling at her daughter’s flushed cheeks.  
“Mama!” Elizabeth exclaimed. “The slide lets you fly! Come try with me!”. Anne laughed, standing up and taking Lizzie’s hand.  
“Okay, sweetheart. Show me how we can fly.”.

They played on the slide for about forty minutes before Elizabeth finally noticed how uncomfortable Mary looked with the whole situation. The park was overwhelming for her too, but as a toddler, she took it in stride. Elizabeth was used to things not making sense. She decided that she would need to get her sister to play too.

All the loud families around them were freaking Mary out, with their odd style of talking and revealing clothing. The teenage girls especially were making her feel less than human, with their long looks and whispered laughter. Standing beside her mother, who was talking to Cathy about some intellectual thing Mary didn’t understand, she was just about to ask if they could go home when she felt a tap on her leg and looked down to see a tiny little head of red hair.  
“Mary?” Elizabeth asked, making sure to pout as much as possible. She knew how to work an audience. “Will you please play on the slide with me? And the swings?”  
Mary blushed, unsure.   
“I don’t know, El. I think those are for small children.”  
“Please?” Elizabeth wheedled, turning big, dark eyes up to her half-sister. “They’re so fun! Kitty pushes me really high on the swings and on the slide you can fly like a bird!”  
Mary sighed and nodded, trying to hide her smile at the fact that Elizabeth was asking her to play.   
“Okay, El. Which shall we do first?”  
“Swings!” the toddler crowed, grabbing her big sister’s hand and dragging her over to the swing set. They found a swing meant for toddlers that was free, and Mary helped Elizabeth carefully climb into it, then went to go stand behind her. It was there that she paused, unsure of what to do next. She’d never seen a swing before, not really. They’d come to several parks in the few weeks before they found their mothers, but only as a way to get Elizabeth out of the room. Mary had a baby with her, she couldn’t watch both kids.   
Lizzie swung her legs back and forth, kicking the air as she waited with little patience.  
“Come on, Mary! You just push!” she explained. Mary nodded slowly, not wanting to seem dumb but also not wanting to do something wrong and hurt Elizabeth. Anne would surely poison her daughter’s mind against her older sister if Mary injured her. She turned her head to look at the other people swinging. Next to them, a girl around Mary’s age was pushing a little boy who looked no more than four. Studying how she caught the swing gently before quickly pushing it back out again, Mary felt a little more sure.  
“Okay, El. 1...2...3!” Mary cried, pushing the toddler away from her with stiff arms. To her surprise, Elizabeth barely floated a foot away from her before coming back to stop in the middle. She went red immediately, feeling uncomfortable.  
“Do you not know how to push a swing?” came from beside them. Mary turned and saw that the girl who had been pushing her brother had now stopped and was giving her a condescending sneer, both arms crossed over her chest. She was wearing clothes that Mary was pretty sure were a lot more age-appropriate than her mother’s rejects, and from the way she was looking at Mary’s clothes, the girl thought so too.   
“Um-I…” Mary stuttered, turning an even deeper shade of red so that she now resembled Elizabeth’s hair.   
“Even Toby knows how to push a swing, and he’s an idiot and four.” the girl continued, tossing her hair over one shoulder. Her brother gave a snort of indignation, but stayed silent, and Mary couldn’t help but feel that he was judging her just as hard as his sister.  
“Leave Mary alone!” Elizabeth cried out, shaking a tiny finger. “She was trying extremely hard, and you’re just being nasty!”. Mary felt a small rush of joy at how easily her sister stuck up for her, but it was quickly replaced by a yucky feeling in her stomach as the stranger laughed.  
“Now the kid you’re babysitting has to stand up for you?”  
“She’s my sister!” Mary said indignantly, finally finding her tongue. “Well, half-sister.”   
‘Whatever. Does she know how to push a swing? Because it sure seemed like she knew more than you, and she can’t be more than two.”  
“I’m two and a half!” Elizabeth retorted, offended. “And you should be nice, because you’re Mary’s age, and she’s old, and old people are supposed to be nicer than small children. Stop being mean or my papa will get you in trouble!”.   
Mary could see that the threat, which would have been scary in their times, didn’t land as well for whatever year they were in now. This teenager just rolled her eyes and scoffed.  
“I’m sure your dad’s plenty scary, kid. But he’s not going to make me stop.”

“No? Then maybe her mum will.”  
Turning at the new voice, Mary felt relieved instantly when she saw Anne, then immediately regretted it. Still, she could be happy Anne had come to save them. She wasn’t sure how much longer she’d have been able to withstand the girl’s verbal barbs.   
Anne came up beside Mary and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, Mary surprising both of them by letting it stay. She scooped Elizabeth up out of the swing, glaring daggers at the stranger.   
“Can you explain to me why you felt the need to pick on my toddler and her sister?”  
Mary felt relieved when Anne didn’t refer to her as her stepdaughter and allowed herself a tiny moment to bask in the fact that she’d finally realized that she and Henry had never been married.   
“She didn’t know how to swing. I mean, come on. Who doesn’t know how to swing?”  
“Mhm, I see.” Anne nodded. “What’s your name, love?”  
“Kaylee.”   
“Okay, Kaylee. Well, I see that you can push a swing, but I’m letting you know that my arm can swing a pretty mean right hook. And you don’t want to end up on the other end of it.” Anne said, grinning like the Cheshire cat and placing Elizabeth on the sand beside her. Kaylee turned pale for a second, but quickly regained her bravado.  
“Resorting to violence? I can definitely see why you were picked as the trashy second wife.”  
The words struck Anne deep, Mary could see, and for a second she let herself revel in the fact that Anne had been hurt by words that Mary herself believed to be semi-true (Anne had never been a wife), but she quickly reminded herself that this was her sister’s mother, and she had come here to help them. Anne shook the barb off and continued.  
“Oh, sweetheart. The best you’ll ever be is a sixth wife. And believe me, I know a lot about those.”  
Kaylee was beat, and she knew it. Picking up her little brother, she stalked off to the sand pit on the other side of the park.  
Anne crouched to face Lizzie, giving her a kiss on the forehead and then straightening up to look at Mary.  
“Are you alright, Mary? I wish I could have punched her, but I don’t think your mum would let me do it in a public place.”  
“Yes she would.” came a voice from behind them that Mary instantly recognized, and she turned, beaming, to meet the loving eyes of her mother, although they were currently filled with more rage than normal.   
“I would have held her down for you, Anne.” Catalina continued, smirking. “Nobody hurts my baby girl and gets away with it.”  
Mary blushed and ran over to her mum to give her a hug, breathing in the familiar scent in this unfamiliar place.  
“Dang it.” Anne said playfully, picking Lizzie back up and squishing her tightly. “Lizzie could have run interference, she’s got a cute face.”  
Elizabeth was not willing to be distracted by the antics of her mama, and she tugged on Anne’s hand to get her attention.  
“Mama, they were being mean to Mary! And I told them to stop, I said you’re being nasty, but she wouldn’t, and she was making Mary sad!” she exclaimed angrily, her free hand tightening into a fist.  
Anne nodded sadly.  
“I know, baby. But I got there in time, and Mary’s okay, right, Mary?” she asked, shooting Mary a look that told her quite clearly that she knew Mary was not, in fact, okay, but that she was asking her to pretend for Elizabeth.  
“I’m okay, El.” Mary promised. “You were already going to save me, anyways.”  
“I was going to do that…” Elizabeth agreed slowly. “Kaylee was being mean. You were a good pusher. Not as good as Kitty, but okay.”  
Mary knew the little girl was lying through her teeth, but she accepted the praise anyway.  
“Thank you.” she said.   
Elizabeth nodded, and turned to her mother, a grin she only got right before she wanted something appearing on her face.  
“Mama?” she wheedled. “Can we pleeease get a swing for home? I like flying and Kitty can teach Mary how to push. That way no one will be mean to her at the park anymore.”  
“We’ll see.” Anne said, but Mary was pretty sure that meant she didn’t want to seem like a pushover but was still going to go home and immediately order a swingset. Edward would like it in a few years too, so she supposed it would be a good purchase.  
She was broken from her train of thought by a gentle hand taking her arm, and looked up to see her mother gazing down at her with a worried look on her face.  
“Are you sure you’re okay, hermosa? I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner.”  
“It’s alright, Mama.” Mary reassured her. “Anne got here just in time. I don’t think I’m really okay, but all I need is you, and you’re right here.”   
“Okay, honey.” Aragon said. “We shouldn’t have let you go off with just Elizabeth yet, both of you are too new to this time. That’s on us, and I’m sorry about that.”  
“It’s quite alright.” Mary repeated. “Can we go home now, though? I just want to lie down.”  
“Yep. I think we were about to head on out anyways, Eddie’s gotten a bit fussy and Jane needs to put him down.”  
They followed Anne and Elizabeth back over to the rest of the group, El skipping back and forth while keeping hold of Anne’s hand. Mary felt herself growing more calm the closer they got to the rest of the group.   
“Mama?”   
“Yes, mi preciosa?”  
“I love you.”  
“I love you too, baby.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please review and leave a kudos!   
> go check out not-so bloody mary!   
> lots of love to everyone:)


	14. two much-needed discussions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jane and kitty, and catalina and mary have two discussions that leave everything uncovered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> how's everyone doing? I got a tooth pulled today, which is not really the best time:/ did get ice cream though.
> 
> anyways, this isn't THE discussion that anne and mary need to have, but it sets the stage nicely and I think that's going to be in the next chapter.   
> kitty gets a chance to be caring and amazing and NOT AN INFANT because she deserves it. sometimes even your mum friend needs someone else to play mum for a while.
> 
> I love you all, and thank you for continuing to read my crazy story:)

Once they started home, Elizabeth was quickly tiring and growing grumpier by the second. It was almost her nap time, Anne reasoned, and she was used to just falling asleep and being carried back to whatever nursery she was staying in. Anna picked the toddler up and carried her, but even she was starting to lose steam a few blocks in, because toddlers are wiggly and hard to keep a handle on. It was then that Jane chose to speak up.  
They’d bought a double stroller, one of those ones for babies and their toddler siblings, and so Edward was snug in his carrier, but there was another seat open.   
“Elizabeth, sweetheart, why don’t you come and lie in this open seat we’ve got here?” Jane asked, putting what she hoped was a kind smile on her face. Elizabeth lifted her head and glared.  
“No thank you, Jane Seymour.” she said, putting extra emphasis on Jane’s last name. Jane drew back immediately, looking hurt. Anne sighed heavily, and with a look over her shoulder at Catherine, swept in.  
“Elizabeth, Aunt Jane offered you a ride in the stroller. Your Aunt Anna can’t carry you anymore baby, not because you’re heavy, but because you like to move. Why don’t you go sit in the stroller with Edward?”  
“No, Mama! I don’t want to!” Elizabeth yelled, tears coming to her eyes and her little fists balling up.   
“Elizabeth Tudor, you will go lie down in the seat, or you will walk. And you have little legs. The stroller would be a nice break.” Anne instructed. Her toddler shook her head frantically, burrowing into Anna’s shoulder.   
“C’mon, Liz.” Anna said, walking her over to the stroller. “Jane’s got a nice stroller here for you and you can chill with Eddie. It’s only for a few blocks, liebling.”  
Tears and snot were now mixing on Elizabeth’s red face, but she seemed to finally concede, and so Jane stopped the stroller so Anna could carefully slip Lizzie in the front of her brother.  
“Right. Let’s go then.” Jane said awkwardly, her face pink. Mary, sensing another tantrum, slipped away from her mum and went to walk beside the stroller, engaging Elizabeth in a conversation about the slide at the park. Edward, unaware of the drama ensuing around him, had drifted off to sleep, and so the little group tried to keep their voices down, but Lizzie didn’t have that in her mind. Anne winced as her toddler continued to make pointed remarks about Jane, remarks that she was pretty sure no one else had picked up on, because no one else knew El’s manner of speaking from when she was that age quite as well as Anne did. At least, she hoped no one else picked up on them. 

When they arrived at the house, Anne whisked Elizabeth upstairs for a nap, ignoring her weak protests. Anna and Cathy disappeared up to their respective rooms, and Catalina and Mary went to the back room to look at some clothing stores online and further bring Mary up to speed on pop culture.   
Jane sat on the couch, Edward sleeping in his carrier on the floor next to her while she rocked it back and forth with her foot, finding a rhythm. She felt heavy and uncomfortable, her skin crawling with revulsion at herself.   
See, Jane had picked up on Elizabeth’s remarks. Sometimes everyone forgot she was actually pretty good at reading emotions, and she had known the girl when she was only a little bit older than right now, and a bit younger too, back when she’d been Anne’s lady-in-waiting. She’d be the first to admit that Elizabeth made her uncomfortable enough already. Jane had never been comfortable with young children, especially Henry’s daughter with her big black eyes and even bigger words. She didn’t think Elizabeth had particularly liked her back then either, but in the 1500s Jane had barely ever seen the child, since Henry had wanted nothing to do with the daughter of the whore.  
Now she was going to be with El every day. Plus, she was pretty sure that the toddler hated her even more than she had before, since she felt more free to express her emotions. Jane had no idea what to do, but crying sounded pretty nice, so she let out the sob she’d been trying to stifle since the morning. And immediately jumped at the hand on her shoulder.  
Kitty was standing behind her, a sympathetic look on her face. She tilted her head at Jane, looking like she was contemplating whether or not to pull her into a hug.   
“Can I sit down, Jane?” she asked instead, not wanting to intrude on Jane’s private moment.  
Jane started slightly, then nodded, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.  
“Of course, love. Always.”.  
Katherine smiled in thanks, moving to sit down on Jane’s left side, the side that didn’t have a baby on the floor. She rocked back and forth on her hands, never one to start difficult conversations.  
“I-I’m sorry about Elizabeth, Jane.” she eventually got out, looking to her lap.  
Jane sniffled slightly, then shrugged, trying to look nonchalant.  
“What can you do, huh? I mean, I deserve it. I ripped her family apart. I was all high-and-mighty because I was helping bring Mary’s family back together, but I made her little sister’s life just as bad, if not worse. So, yeah, she should be mad at me.”   
Kitty shook her head emphatically.  
“No, Jane. She shouldn’t be mad at you. You’re not that Jane, but she doesn’t know that. She’s only a baby, Jane, she doesn’t know what she’s saying.”  
“But she does!” Jane exclaimed, her voice rising slightly. “She was so much smarter than Henry or I gave her credit for! We thought, oh, she’ll be so much better off without a whore for a mother, she’s too young to know anything has even happened. But she saw everything, Kitty. Everything. And I can’t ever apologize enough for that, so she shouldn’t forgive me.”  
“Jane, breathe with me.” Kitty instructed, taking the older woman’s hand and rubbing it with a steady rhythm. “In...out, that’s it, keep breathing.”  
Jane nodded, her colour slowly returning to normal, but tears continued to stream down her face.  
“I just-I worked so hard, and so long, with Anne, for her to like me and I don’t want her to hate me again because Elizabeth reminds her of everything I took away! And I don’t want Elizabeth to hate me.” she said, her voice growing quieter on the last line.   
Kitty tilted her head to think.  
“I don’t think Anne could ever hate you again, Jane. You guys worked for too long and too hard for her to forget everything you’ve done for her.”  
Jane shook her head slightly.  
“I know, I just fear it!” she cried. She could feel her tears returning in full force, but was startled slightly when Kitty pulled her into a tight hug, rubbing her back in swirling circles.  
“It’s okay, Jane.” she soothed. “Lizzie will get over this, because Anne loves you and she’ll teach her daughter to love you too. Besides, think of the good things that are happening to you right now. Mary’s back, you always talk about how you miss her. And Edward! You’ve got your baby boy and you get to raise him, Jane. Isn’t that your dream?”  
Jane smiled wetly into Kitty’s shirt.   
“It is.”  
“Well then, don’t get too worried about Elizabeth. Poor kid has both of her parents’ tempers, so she’s bound to be angry about something. Just give her a week, and she’ll be upset about something completely different.” Kitty assured her, smirking slightly.   
Jane let out a snort.  
“It definitely will be interesting, living with everyone.” she said softly. Kitty’s eyes got comically wide.  
“Are you kidding? I’m so excited! Lizzie’s definitely going to be a partner in crime for Anne and Anna, and Mary’s so like Lina, although I’m kinda worried she hates me, but that’s a problem for later, and Eddie’s so freakishly cute! Cathy and I were talking about how we’re excited to get to see Eddie and Lizzie grow up, since they were pretty cute kids when we knew them, so they’ll be even cuter when they’re little.”  
“I’m excited to get to watch Eddie grow up.” Jane admitted, blushing. “Maybe he’ll have a happier childhood this time around.”  
“Obviously he will.” Kitty said, rolling her eyes dramatically. “He’s got one of the best mums out there, and five aunts who will sneak him candy when you aren’t looking, plus two older sisters who I already know will be so overprotective he’ll hide from them.”  
“That does sound pretty nice.” Jane agreed, nodding and relaxing, dropping her head onto Kitty’s shoulder. “Shall we watch something?”  
“Moana?” Kitty asked, instantly excited. Jane groaned quietly, but handed her the remote.  
“Go ahead.”

Mary let out a heavy sigh.  
“I just don’t understand, Mama.”  
Catalina nodded sympathetically.   
“I know it’s confusing, mija, but let’s try it one more time, huh? It’s called Instagram, and you can post pictures of yourself that you take on the same phone, although I mainly use it for posting quotes-”  
“No, Mama.” Mary interrupted, placing a hand over her mother’s. “Not that I understand that at all, because I most certainly do not, but I was referring to Anne.”  
“Boleyn?” Lina asked, even though she knew that was a dumb question.  
“No, Mama, the other Anne I dislike with a burning passion.” Mary deadpanned. “I don’t understand why she was so nice to me at the park. Elizabeth standing up for me I understand, because she’s always been on my side, but why did Anne come?”  
“Mary, Anne cares for you.”  
“Most certainly.” Mary scoffed. “That’s why she sent me, the Princess of Wales, off to wait on my bastard half-sister. She hates me, Mama!”  
“Mija, Anne did not send you to wait on Elizabeth.”  
“Yes she did! You KNOW she did, Mama! How can you live under the same roof as her and be friends with her?”  
“Mary Tudor, I think that if you look deep inside yourself you’ll realize that your mistreatment while Anne was queen had nothing to do with Anne herself.” Catalina said softly but firmly, knowing that her daughter needed to realize this before they could move forward.  
“What are you saying, Mama?” Mary said, paling slightly.   
“Mary, Anne died and you still had to sign the Oath, they still forced you to do it, they even threatened you with imprisonment. Anne wasn’t somehow doing that from beyond the grave, baby. That was all your father.”  
“No!” Mary said, shaking her head frantically. “That was his advisors, he didn’t know what was going on! Papa would never do that to me!”. But as she said the words, Mary found herself believing them less and less. Her Papa had been king. If he wanted Mary to be treated nicely, he wouldn’t have let Anne send her to be a lowly servant, he wouldn’t have refused to see her until she signed the Oath, knowing how emotional that would be for her. As the realization that it hadn’t been Anne who was responsible for her life falling apart, Mary let out a choked sob.  
“Shhh, mija. It’s okay.” Catalina soothed, pulling her baby girl into a tight hug and privately marvelling at just how big and grown Mary had gotten. “We’re together now, and no one is going to hurt you.”  
“She didn’t do it.” Mary sobbed, hiding her face in her mother’s shirt. “Did she even sleep with all those men? Her brother?”  
“Mary, I’m pretty sure you’ve always known that one wasn’t true.”  
“I-I treated Elizabeth so horribly because of Anne!” Mary cried. “I ruined our relationship because of her!”  
“Anne was not completely innocent in your situation.” Aragon said. “She could have told Henry no, insisted you not be allowed to go to Hatfield. But Mary, I think you understand how your father got when he had his mind set on something. I doubt there was much Anne could have ever done.”  
Mary nodded in agreement.   
“You have to understand that neither Anne or I expect you to be completely okay with her right away. The two of us didn’t properly speak for the first three months we were here, we hated each other so much. She didn’t speak to Jane for two months. We all have prejudices we’ve carried over from our old lives, so no one is blaming you for your feelings. I just wanted you to have the truth before you got too upset with Anne. She cares for you, mija. You’re half me, and we’re pretty good friends now, and you’re half Henry. Anne may hate Henry, but I think she has a soft spot for the fact that you share half of your genes with her daughter. She’s got your back, Mary.”  
“I think I understand that now.” Mary said slowly. “However, I’m not sure if I completely believe it.”  
“And I’m saying that’s okay, princesa. Anne understands. Just be aware that she has a lot to talk to you about as well.”  
“The locking Elizabeth up thing.” Mary sighed.  
“Yes, the locking your sister up in the same place Anne died thing. I’m not exactly pleased about that either, sweetheart. But that’s not my discussion to have with you.” Catalina said, looking her daughter in the eye head-on.  
“I suppose I need to have a talk with Anne.” Mary said matter-of-factly.  
“I suppose you do.” Lina agreed.   
“Mama?”  
“Si, mi preciosa?”  
“Can you explain Instagram again? How can you follow people who do not know you exist?”  
Aragon laughed, reaching for her phone and pulling Mary in close.  
“Of course, baby.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> leave a review and tell me what you thought and I'll love you forever<3
> 
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	15. bloody mary and the king's concubine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> anne and mary finally, FINALLY, talk alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am so, SO sorry that this chapter has taken so long, everyone. this may be the hardest thing I've ever written in my life, because I wanted to do it in a way that felt natural but also progressed the narrative for you guys. I think I found a good balance in the end, and I hope you really like it!
> 
> if you're a podcast type of human, go check out my podcast, not-so bloody mary wherever you get them! we just covered anne boleyn, and (this is literally not announced yet, so hush) we're doing mary for the next six or so episodes!

Elizabeth had fallen asleep as soon as Anne had placed her into the bed and tucked the pale green bedspread right up under her chin, curling into a position that made Anne’s heart hurt with painful memories. Flashes of watching her baby daughter sleep, peaceful and content in a world that called her a bastard and her mother a whore, watching her toddler have her nap while she herself cried tears of worry, worry that they would take her away from her Lizzie.   
Even then, Anne had never thought they would kill her, not really. She’d imagined a life shoved into a nunnery, or maybe, if she was lucky, in Pembroke, since Henry would want to keep the mother of his child in good conditions as he’d gotten so much negativity for what he’d done to Catalina. She’d thought she would see Elizabeth even less than when her baby had lived in a different residence, but she had still imagined special occasions spent together, watching her daughter grow up and have her own children. There was a hope that Elizabeth would marry into some grand alliance, Anne had always wanted a French one, and then maybe she could go live in that country with her, leaving Henry and all the painful memories behind.   
That had never happened, obviously. Anne would not have changed what happened, since her baby girl had become England’s greatest monarch (in her humble opinion), but she did wish that Cromwell had not worked quite so hard to have her sent to the chopping block, drawing on the last seed of compassion in his blackened heart to be kind to a mother and her child.  
But then, that would have defeated the purpose of the whole thing.

She crawled into bed next to her toddler, drawing her into a tight embrace. Anne was not going to let anything go wrong this time. Her baby girl would grow up to be just as powerful as she had been, but with a much happier childhood. Letting out a sigh, she took a deep breath, allowing the scent of Lizzie to overwhelm her senses, and fell into a peaceful sleep.

This time, she woke up to arms gently rolling her back and forth, and a calm voice whispering in her ear.  
“Anne, it’s time to wake up. Dinnertime.”.  
Parr was standing over her, an uncomfortable look on her face, but she masked it quickly when Anne opened one eye groggily.  
“What time is it?” she rasped, pushing a handful of black hair out of her flushed face and yawning.   
“Six thirty.” Cathy answered, looking apologetic.   
“Shit.” Anne said, looking over her shoulder at the sleeping body that was Elizabeth. “The kid hasn’t eaten in like six and a half hours, and her bedtime’s in forty minutes.”  
“None of us wanted to wake you up, it sounded like Lizzie woke up pretty early this morning.” Cathy explained, wincing slightly. Early mornings were not her thing. “Plus, there’s been some heavy conversations happening downstairs, Jane was watching Moana with Kitty and I think they got distracted.”  
“No, it’s totally fine.” Anne said, waving a hand at Cathy. “No stress, it’s my fault for not setting an alarm or something. I’ll just wake her up and we’ll head down right away.”  
“Okay.” Cathy agreed, looking uncomfortable once again. “I’ll just-I’ll leave then. See you at dinner.”. And with one last look at Elizabeth, she ducked around the door and disappeared.

Anne tilted her head, slightly confused, but she shook it off. Cathy was fine, she’d talk to her later.  
“Baby girl…” she cooed, pulling the blanket down slowly from Lizzie’s shoulders and tapping her gently on the back. “It’s time to wake up, cherie.”  
“Mama…” Lizzie murmured, moving slightly and opening her eyes a crack.   
“Come on, sweetheart. It’s dinnertime.”  
That got the toddler’s attention, and she sat up quickly, rubbing her eyes with little fists. Anne stifled a laugh at how much like Henry she got at the mention of food.   
“Okay, Mama.” Elizabeth said, crawling across the bed and latching herself onto Anne like a koala bear. “Carry me please?”  
She could never say no to that pouty little face, especially when she had the added cute bonus of having just woken up. Anne had never seen Elizabeth when she was tired or just woken up, that privilege was reserved for Lady Bryan, since the Queen saw the Princess when she was pretty and clean, well behaved and using all her manners.   
“Of course, baby.” Anne agreed, standing up and bringing Lizzie with her, pressing a kiss to the top of her forehead. “Let’s go eat.”

Lizzie looked just like Anne when she was tired, Catalina noted, stifling a giggle at the look on the toddler’s face of pure confusion when she and her mother entered the room. She was latched onto Anne like that was the only thing between her and a massive chasm, her hair had not been brushed since early that morning, and she had a pillow crease down the side of her flushed face, which was burrowed into her mother’s shoulder. Lina didn’t think she’d seen many sights cuter than this one. She gave Elizabeth a smile and wave, which was returned, although not with the normal vigour she’d come to expect in the last 24 hours.   
“We’re so sorry, Anne, we all got distracted-”  
Anne cut Jane off, smiling softly.  
“And I got just as distracted. Lizzie and I are fine. She just really would like some food.”  
At the mention of food, a tiny red head poked out of the hidey-hole she’d created in Anne’s chest.   
“Supper?” Lizzie asked, a smile showing on her face.  
“Oui, ma chérie." Anne responded, a soft look of pride changing her features into something Lina had never seen before on the woman’s face, but knew from her own. “Can you say supper en francais?”. Lizzie tilted her head, thinking for a moment.  
“Oui! Souper!” she said, an excited look on her face.   
“Bravo, Elizabeth.” Anne praised, pulling out a chair and sitting down in it, evidently having decided she was not letting go of her child. Looking next to her, Aragon caught Mary looking at Anne with an odd look of longing and confusion. She shook her head, knowing her daughter was too stubborn to ask on her own, so she took a deep breath and cleared her throat.  
“Excuse-moi, princesse,” she said first, figuring getting Elizabeth’s attention first was the best way to go about things. “Veux-tu de l’eau?”. The water was right in front of her, after all, and she knew the toddler didn’t like milk.  
Elizabeth pondered this for a moment, then nodded, a big smile on her face.  
“Oui, s’il vous plaît!"  
“Tres bien, Elizabeth.” Anne exclaimed. “You’re getting very good at your French, I suppose we’ll have to get you learning Spanish with Aunt Lina.”. Elizabeth nodded excitedly.   
“I could help to, if you wanted, Anne.” Mary offered shyly, blushing slightly as she did so. Anne shot her an odd look, but smiled kindly.  
“That would be a lovely idea, Mary. Thank you.”  
“Could-could we talk tonight?” Mary asked, tucking her head in embarrassment. Aragon grabbed her hand under the table and gave it a small squeeze of praise.  
“Of course, Mary.” Anne said, the slight paling of her skin the only indication she was uncomfortable. “Once Elizabeth has gone to bed, we can go in the backyard and have a chat.”

Getting out of the house for the conversation was probably a smart idea, Lina mused. They had two young children who could be easily awoken by yelling, and Anne and Mary both had volatile tempers.   
“I’ll watch Liz, Anne.” she offered.   
Anne gave her a grateful look.   
“Thank you.”

The rest of dinner was comfortable and uneventful, without counting Anna and Kitty trying to convince Elizabeth to do the ‘chubby bunny’ challenge with cherry tomatoes. Jane and Cathy shooed them all out so they could clean up, Edward having gone to bed before they all sat down. Catalina followed Anne and Elizabeth upstairs, Mary trailing behind her. The toddler was babbling on about the swings at the park and how she’d like to go back tomorrow, but “only if that mean girl has left, Mama”. Lina could tell that her daughter was feeling anxious when they arrived on the landing, but she let it be as they both gave Lizzie a kiss on the cheek and told her to sleep well.   
“Thank you Aunt Lina and Mary! I love you!” the toddler giggled, shooting them both a beaming smile. Catalina winced, knowing she was likely too revved up to sleep, and that meant she was going to be spending the foreseeable future with an overly excited two year old. Anne gave her an apologetic smile, then bent down to whisper in Elizabeth’s ear.  
“Te amo! Buenas noches!” Liz said, looking down at her feet immediately. Mary smiled, bending down to Elizabeth’s level.  
“Gracias, Elizabeth. Te amo.”  
“Well done, El.” Aragon praised. “I’ll see you in a little while, sweetheart.”  
“Why?” Elizabeth questioned, tilting her head up towards her mother. “Where are you going?”  
“I’m not going anywhere, ma cherie.” Anne promised.   
“She’s talking to me.” Mary interrupted, brushing a piece of hair behind her ear.  
“Mary and I have a lot we need to talk about, my love.” Anne explained. “But first and foremost, I’m putting my baby girl to bed and we’re going to read a story together. Come along, Lizzie.”  
They disappeared upstairs to Anne’s attic bedroom, and Aragon turned to her daughter, who was pale and fiddling with her hands. She sighed, grabbing Mary’s hand and squeezing it tenderly.  
“Mija, let’s go in our room, yeah? Anne won’t be ready for a little bit, I highly doubt Elizabeth will go down easy tonight.”  
“She was fairly excited.” Mary agreed, nodding and leading the way into the room.  
“I believe that’s a bit of an understatement. She has too much of her parents in her to be a calm child. Even you were rambunctious when we allowed you to be.” Lina laughed, sitting down on the bed and patting the space next to her.  
“Papa’s genes are truly something.” Mary agreed, sitting down and melting into her mother’s embrace. “I doubt it was you that gave me those crazy tendencies.”  
“You’d be surprised, mi amor.”  
“Mama, I’m frightened.” Mary said abruptly, turning red.  
“Mary, you have nothing to be truly worried about. Anne has a temper and she says things she doesn’t mean, but so do you. She also has a heart of gold, mija. She wants more than anything to love you and protect you because once you’re in her circle, she is loyal to you forever. But you need to earn her trust first. And she needs to earn yours.” Aragon explained, rubbing Mary’s shoulder in a circular motion.  
“We have a lot to talk about.”  
“And it doesn’t need to all be solved tonight. Right?”  
“Si.” Mary agreed, shrugging.  
“Yep, because you’re not leaving tonight. You have a lifetime to spend with us, and that means you and Anne take enough time to properly forgive each other before you pretend everything is hunky-dory.”  
“That’s a silly word, Mama.” Mary laughed, shaking her head fondly. Catalina shrugged.  
“A lot of the words we use now are silly, honey. But then, a lot of the words we used a long time ago were silly too.”.  
“Very true.” she conceded, taking a deep breath and wishing she could save this moment forever.

Meanwhile, Anne was also freaking out, but Elizabeth was not as much of a calming influence as Catalina.   
“Baby, can you please lie down?” Anne pleaded, wringing her hands nervously. Elizabeth squealed with laughter, bouncing up and down on the bed.  
“It’s quite bouncy, Mama!” she cried, giggling. Anne sighed.  
“I know, love, but it’s bedtime.”  
“I’m not tired.” Elizabeth pouted, pausing in her jumping to cross her little arms and glare at her mother. “I don’t wish to sleep.”  
“That’s too bad, baby. You have to sleep or else we can’t go to the park tomorrow, because you’ll be too tired to play.” Anne said sadly, shaking her head in pretend sorrow.  
El’s dark eyes got big.   
“We can’t see the park?”  
“Nope. Not unless you lie down and try to sleep, Lizzie. Even if you can’t fall asleep, Aunt Lina’s coming in and maybe, if you’re extra good, she’ll sing to you in Spanish.”   
“Like how you sing in French?” Elizabeth asked, beginning to smile. “And Papa sings in English?”  
“Just like that, yes.” Anne agreed, pulling back the covers and patting the mattress. “Come on then, sweetheart. Mama has to go talk to Mary, but I promise I’ll be back in the morning and we can spend time together.”  
“Yes, Mama. Go get Aunt Lina!” Elizabeth commanded.  
Anne arched an eyebrow.  
“Please go get Aunt Lina, Mama. I love you!”  
“I love you too, sweetheart. Kiss?”   
Elizabeth nodded, turning her cheek.   
“Okay, baby. Goodnight.”  
“Goodnight, Mama.”

Mary didn’t think she’d ever been in a more uncomfortable situation. And she’d dealt with plenty of such occasions.   
Anne had come over to get her with little incident, although Mary was pretty sure her mum had threatened Anne if she hurt her daughter. Anne had rolled her eyes and asked Mary to follow her out into the backyard, which was why they were now perched on opposite sides of the bench Mary was pretty sure Jane had picked out. Anne was playing with the ends of her hair, which Elizabeth also did when she was anxious about something. The thought made Mary jolt slightly, and Anne looked over at her nervously.  
“Are you alright, Mary?” she asked quietly. Mary shook her head.  
“I’m fine, I tend to do that occasionally.” she lied. Anne looked confused, but she let the matter drop.  
“What is it you wanted to talk about?”   
“Um…”. Mary fumbled around in her head for something, anything to start the conversation. “She cried.”  
“Pardon me?” Anne questioned, her face even more confused now.  
Mary cursed her loose tongue. She shook her head frantically.  
“Elizabeth. She cried when she was with me at Hunsdon. Every day, we’d try to get her to go down for her nap or go to bed at night, and she’d cry and cry. Lady Bryan and I didn’t know what to do, because the one person she wanted we couldn’t give her.” she explained, noting the pained expression on Anne’s face. “I always thought you were a bad mother until then, because you didn’t see El as much as my mum saw me, but I’ve come to realize that that wasn’t fair. A lot of the things I thought about you weren’t fair.”  
“Mary, I-” Anne began, but Mary cut her off with a raise of her finger.  
“No, please. Let me talk, or else I don’t think I’ll get it all out.”

Anne nodded, somehow relaxing and tensing at the same time.  
“One of my worst regrets is how I treated Elizabeth.” Mary continued, looking at her feet. “As soon as she got old enough to remind me of you and became the face of everything I was afraid of, I wasn’t fair to her. I’ll never be able to apologize enough for locking her up in the Tower. Yes, she was posing a threat to me, but I’m sure that caused her even more emotional trauma. I was never kind about you, either. I suppose I thought that she was better off without you to raise her, but looking back, I got so lost because I wasn’t allowed my mother anymore. Every child needs good parental figures in their life, and god knows Papa wasn’t always the best father.” Mary laughed sadly at the last sentence, shaking her head. “Do you think you could forgive me?” she asked quietly, her voice trembling. 

Anne smiled.  
“Mary, I want more than anything in this world to forgive you. You’re my daughter’s sister, and your mother is very important to me as well. Elizabeth loves you very, very much, and for that reason alone I will work harder than I’ve worked at anything in a long time to get you to forgive me. Because sweetheart, I don’t think this is a matter of me forgiving you. Elizabeth was shattered because of what you did, Mary. I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that I am fully and completely okay with what happened, but my daughter rose above and I am so proud of her for it. Now that she’s back with me, I think I’m less inclined to be mad at you. The thing is, Mary, I don’t think you’re okay with me.”  
Mary spluttered for a few seconds, then looked over at Anne, who was staring at her with a sad, sympathetic look on her face.   
“No, I think I’ve rather come to terms with it all.” she said icily.   
“Mary, I know that your mother has talked with you about things that did or didn’t happen. And I’m aware that you’ve finally realized that it wasn’t me who was trying to cause you any pain or harm. But honey, you realized that only this afternoon. You’ve spent two thirds of your life hating me, and so I don’t expect you to be able to brush everything off so easily. And I also don’t believe that would be very healthy.” Anne said softly. “Please, I want you to tell me the things that made you hate me so much you locked my daughter up in the place I died.”.  
The last sentence was said just casually enough, but Mary recognized the hint of warning behind Anne’s tone. Definitely a woman born and bred for court. She shrugged.  
“There’s a lot.” she said quietly.   
Anne laughed, the gesture making her look more human than Mary had ever believed Anne Boleyn could be.  
“Believe me Mary, I’m quite used to people hating me. I think I’d have done very well in debate club if I’d been in a high school today, I’ve had to defend myself a number of times.”  
“I don’t want to hurt you.” Mary said. “I’ve known what it’s like, now. To be hated.”  
Anne’s face shifted sympathetically, and she gave Mary a sad smile.  
“For what it’s worth, I think you did as best you could with what life had given you. People like to gloss over the fact that you were the first female ruling monarch we had, that you kept the throne until you died. Your mother is very proud of you for that.”  
Mary ducked her head, going red.   
“You broke my family.” she stated simply when she came back up. She’d never been one to beat around the bush.  
Anne’s face paled, but she straightened up and nodded.  
“I did.” she agreed quietly. “And Jane broke mine.”  
“That’s not fa-” Mary started, but Anne cut her off, continuing.  
“No, it’s not fair, Mary. Look, I’m not going to talk to Elizabeth about this right away, because she’s only little, but Mary, you’re a teenager. And so it’s time that someone talked to you about this honestly. Sweetheart, it wasn’t Jane’s fault my family got ripped apart, it was Cromwell’s and your father’s.”  
“I never liked Cromwell,” Mary interjected. “He reminded me of a weasel.”  
Anne snorted.  
“That’s a rather unfair comparison for weasels.” she said with a mock serious face. Mary laughed.  
“Anyways, it wasn’t really Jane’s fault I lost my head. Just as it wasn’t Kitty’s fault that Anna was divorced, just as it wasn’t my fault your family was broken. I will not say that I didn’t play a part, but if you compare all those instances, there’s only one common theme in all of them.”  
“Papa.” Mary answered.   
“Yes.” Anne said heavily. “I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable or tarnish your memories of your father, because he could be a really, really amazing man, but he was also a tyrant. I think that you, that all of us here with any memories of him, tend to have a habit of thinking of Henry the tyrant as someone separate from the loving man we knew. But that isn’t accurate or fair. We have to remember him as he was, which was a complex man who treated all of us horribly in different ways, but was also responsible for some of the best things in our lives.”  
Mary blinked back tears.  
“He used to be such a wonderful father.” she whispered. “He’d show me off and twirl me around for all the ambassadors, bragging about his beautiful little girl, the pearl of England. Mama would be there in the background, smiling proudly at whatever I did, but Papa was my hero, you know? He was King, and I knew, I believed with everything in my soul, that I would be Queen like Papa and my grandmother.”  
“And you were, Mary.” Anne reminded her, smiling softly.  
“But I was a queen just like him in all the wrong ways!” Mary exclaimed, a horrified look on her face. “I burned all those people! And all I ever did was blame you for it, blame you for spreading the disease of Protestantism to my country and my Papa, blame you for giving birth to Elizabeth so she could be my rival in everything, blame you because I figured I would have been married young enough to conceive a child if you hadn’t come into my life.”  
“You would have been.” Anne agreed, a pained look on her face. “I’m truly sorry for that, Mary. I know how much you wanted a baby.”  
“Yes, well,” Mary said, forcing a flippant expression on her face, “I never had one. I blamed you for that as well, because God was displeased with me for signing the Oath.”  
“God was not mad at you for that. You did that to save your life.” Anne reminded her firmly. “You father would have imprisoned you, Mary. And we know how well that turned out for me.” she said dryly, laughing bitterly.  
Mary winced slightly.   
“My life was excellent, you know.” she said sadly. “I had a wonderful education, two loving parents, and my lady governess was like a second mother to me. A whole country loved me and wanted me to rule over them. Men fought over my hand in marriage. I had masques and dances celebrating occasions in my life. And then all of a sudden, every single one of those things was ripped away from me, little by little.”  
Anne nodded slowly.  
“You were still a very smart girl, Mary.” she tried, but Mary shook her head.  
“I was good at languages and music and dancing. I enjoyed showing off because it made Papa so happy, but then Elizabeth and Edward came along. They were the real scholars, they were so intelligent and dedicated to their studies. Papa was so proud of everything they could do, but I was too old and too unlike them to show off too much.”  
“You were absolutely brilliant at the virginals when you were little,” Anne said, laying a hand on Mary’s forearm, “do you think it would be too complicated for you to learn a new instrument? It’s similar to the virginals, it’s called a piano. We have one, and most of us enjoy playing it occasionally. Perhaps that could be a creative outlet for you, and maybe you’d even teach it to Elizabeth or Edward once he’s old enough to learn. Jane isn’t very good at it.” she offered. Mary blushed, a smile spreading across her face.  
“I suppose I could try to play them.” she agreed. “I usually pick up music very well, it’s not too hard?”  
“Not if you’ve been playing virginals beautifully since the age of four.” Anne replied. “If you’d feel comfortable, I could help you until you pick it up. It shouldn’t take too long, although if you don’t want to, I’d under-”  
“Anne.” Mary said, cutting her off. “I would love to have you teach me.”  
“Oh, good.” Anne said happily. “We’ll start with songs you know, just to get you feeling comfortable, and then I can teach you some of my favourites from this century.”  
“I think that’s a marvellous idea.” Mary agreed, smiling shyly at her former stepmother, who returned the smile with a grin so similar to Elizabeth’s it made Mary smile.

They sat there in silence for a while, staring up at the stars, until Anne broke the reverie.  
“I think I’m going to go to bed now, Mary.” she said quietly, with a hint of anxiety behind her voice. Mary jolted slightly, but upon registering what was said, nodded.  
“That’s a good idea. I was about to drift off right here, and I think that would be cold.” she laughed.   
Anne gave her a smile, then stood up, brushing down her invisible skirts (a habit that had never fully faded).   
“I know we’re still not really 100% good or friends or anything, but I’m really glad we talked, Mary. The biggest regret of my past life was how my marriage made you feel and turned your life around and upside down. It’s also very important to me that Elizabeth has a wonderful relationship with you just as I had with my siblings. So thank you for talking to me, sweetheart.”  
“I think my mum will be glad we had this talk.” Mary revealed as they made their way to the house. “She keeps pressuring me to speak of you nicely.”  
“Well, your mum is pretty amazing.” Anne said, opening the door and turning the light on. “Of course, I’m better, but Lina’s a decent chick.”  
“Um, I’m going to pretend I understood that and go upstairs.” Mary said awkwardly, quickening her pace and disappearing up the stairs, throwing a goodbye over her shoulder.

Her mum was up in the attic with Elizabeth still when Mary arrived at their room, but she’d left Mary a glass of water on the bedside table, which the former queen quickly drank. Catalina had also placed a fresh nightgown that looked like it probably belonged to Jane on the bedspread, and as Mary pulled it over her head, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, smelling the oddly citrusy scent. As she climbed into bed, she found it hard to wipe the smile off her face.  
A piano! What a curious name, she mused. Learning a new instrument would be very exciting and a good way to unwind after a long day of being in a brand new century. Anne would be a good teacher, she was sure, because whenever she’d played for Mary’s mother during her time as lady in waiting, her music had always been beautiful. And teaching her younger siblings would be a good way to bond over something that wasn’t their shared father, plus it would ensure they still looked up to her even though they had their mothers this time around.  
As Mary drifted off to sleep, she found herself more content than she’d been in a very, very long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all so much for reading! let me know if you thought that was a good way to do it. I didn't feel that mary would immediately be 100% alright with anne, but I also think she needed to realize some truths, and she and anne needed something to do together so that I can progress their narrative.
> 
> have a good rest of your day/evening/night! lots and lots of love<3

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! please, please, please leave a review! it completely makes my day when I get reviews, I love hearing from all you lovely people.  
> lots of love!  
> message me on instagram @gleefully_musical if you ever need to talk, I'm always available<3


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